THE  CHINESE 
AT  HOME 

J.  DYER  BALL 

M.R.A.S. 


V 


vc.' 


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APR  9 1912 


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THE  CHINESE  AT  HOME 


>Di 


THE  LITTLE  ORPHAN  ROCK  IN  THE  YANC.  TSZ 


THE  CHINESE 
AT  HOME 

OR 

THE  MAN  OF  TONG  AND  HIS  LAND 


l By 

J.  DYER  BALL,  i.s.o.,  m.r.a.s. 

M.  CHINA  BK.K.A.S.,  ETC. 

Hong- Kong  Civil  Service  ( retired ) 

AUTHOR  OF  “THINGS  CHINESE,”  “THE  CELESTIAL  AND  HIS  RELIGION 


FLEMING  H.  REYELL  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK.  CHICAGO.  TORONTO 


1912 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

PREFACE  . . . . . Xi 

CHAPTER 

I.  THE  MIDDLE  KINGDOM  . . . .1 

II.  THE  BLACK-HAIRED  RACE  . . .12 

III.  THE  LIFE  OF  A DEAD  CHINAMAN  . . 21 

IV.  WIND  AND  WATER,  OR  “ FUNG-SHUI  ” . . T>2 

V.  THE  MUCH-MARRIED  CHINAMAN  . . -45 

VI.  JOHN  CHINAMAN  ABROAD  . . . 6 1 

vii.  john  chinaman’s  little  ones  . . 72 

VIII.  THE  PAST  OF  JOHN  CHINAMAN  . . .86 

IX.  THE  MANDARIN  . . . . -99 

X.  LAW  AND  ORDER  . . . . Il6 

XI.  THE  DIVERSE  TONGUES  OF  JOHN  CHINAMAN  . 129 

XII.  THE  DRUG  : FOREIGN  DIRT  . . . 144 

XIII.  WHAT  JOHN  CHINAMAN  EATS  AND  DRINKS  . 158 

XIV.  JOHN  CHINAMAN’S  DOCTORS  . . . 172 

XV.  WHAT  JOHN  CHINAMAN  READS  . . . 185 

vii 


Contents 


CHAPTER 

XVI. 

JOHN  CHINAMAN  AFLOAT 

• 

PAGE 

199 

XVII. 

HOW  JOHN  CHINAMAN  TRAVELS  ON 

LAND 

2X2 

XVIII. 

HOW  JOHN  CHINAMAN  DRESSES 

225 

XIX. 

THE  CARE  OF  THE  MINUTE 

239 

XX. 

THE  YELLOW  PERIL 

252 

XXI. 

JOHN  CHINAMAN  AT  SCHOOL 

262 

XXII. 

JOHN  CHINAMAN  OUT  OF  DOORS 

279 

XXIII. 

JOHN  CHINAMAN  INDOORS 

297 

XXIV. 

JOHN  CHINAMAN  AT  WORK 

316 

XXV. 

WHAT  JOHN  CHINAMAN  BELIEVES 

331 

XXVI. 

NEW  LIFE  IN  OLD  CHINA 

342 

XXVII. 

WHAT  MISSIONARIES  HAVE  DONE 

FOR 

JOHN 

CHINAMAN 

• 

• 

355 

INDEX  .... 

. 

363 

\ 


viii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


IN  COLOUR 

THE  LITTLE  ORPHAN  ROCK  IN  THE  YANG  TSZ  . Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

BARBER  . . . . . . .16 

A FEMALE  ACROBAT  . . . . . 1 32 

A BLIND  SINGING  GIRL  AND  DUENNA  . . . 192 

A PERFORMING  MONKEY.  ....  2l6 

A BLIND  MERCHANT  .....  286 
A PHYSIOGNOMIST  .....  34O 

IN  BLACK  AND  WHITE 

A CHINESE  WATERWAY  AND  BRIDGE  . . .2 

BRAIDING  THE  QUEUE  . . . . -13 

A FAMILY  GROUP  OF  THREE  GENERATIONS  . . 46 

A BRIDAL  PROCESSION  . . . . -51 


IX 


List  of  Illustrations 

FACING  PAGE 

A MILITARY  MANDARIN  AND  WIFE  . . -54 

A FAMILY  GROUP  . . . . • 72 

A FAMILY  JAUNT  . . . . • 72 

THREE  DISTINGUISHED  MANDARINS  . . . IOO 

ROOM  IN  GOVERNOR’S  YAMEN  ....  IOO 

SHANGHAI  : FOREIGN  MARKET  ....  158 

EATING  RICE  ......  158 

THREE  WELL-DRESSED  LADIES  AND  SERVANT  . . 235 

A CHINESE  CROWD  AT  AN  OUT-OF-DOORS  THEATRE  . 281 

CHINESE  GENTLEMAN’S  GARDEN  . . . 288 

THE  DRAGON  PROCESSION  ....  295 

THE  GUEST  HALL  IN  A CHINESE  GENTLEMAN’S  HOUSE, 

HONG  KONG  .....  304 

A GAMBLING  HOUSE  .....  314 

THE  CHINESE  “ BARROW  ” . 314 

SHANGHAI  CITY  TEMPLE  ....  338 

STREET  SCENE  : PEKING  ....  349 

STREET  SCENE  : MOUKDEN  . ...  349 


X 


PREFACE 


HE  Tong  (or  Tang)  Dynasty  was  so  splendid 


a period  in  the  annals  of  China  that  millions 
in  the  south  of  that  land  glory  in  the  name  of 
Men  of  Tong.  In  the  north  another  illustrious 
dynasty  has  likewise  bestowed  its  name  on  other 
millions,  who  commemorate  its  bright  annals  by 
taking  the  name  of  Men  of  Han. 

The  Han  is  noted  chiefly  amongst  a literary 
people,  such  as  the  Chinese,  as  the  epoch  of  the 
renaissance  of  their  literature  ; while  the  Tong, 
also  renowned  for  its  literary  excellence,  has  been 
compared  to  our  Elizabethan  age  of  literature. 

These  two  periods  of  China’s  history  were  not 
only  renowned  for  literature  : the  Han,  the  reign 
of  whose  sovereigns  extended  from  B.C.  206  to 
a.d.  25,  was  a glorious  epoch,  whether  looked 
at  from  a literary,  historical,  military,  commercial, 
or  an  artistic  point  of  view  ; and  it  was  very 
fitting  that  its  name  should  be  used  to  designate 
its  sons,  as  it  was  the  formative  period  of 
Chinese  polity  and  institutions,  official  and  formal. 

Equally  fitting  was  it  that  the  people  of  the 
southern  portion  of  the  Empire  should  appropriate 
the  title  of  another  great  dynasty  as  a name  for 


XI 


Preface 


themselves  ; for  it  was  during  the  Tong  Dynasty 
(a.d.  618-908)  that  they,  who  had  been  con- 
quered before,  were  now  completely  civilised  and 
incorporated  into  the  Chinese  race.  Thus  they 
have  immortalised  this  most  illustrious  period  of 
Chinese  history  and  kept  its  memory  ever  fragrant 
during  many  cycles  of  Cathay,  while  at  the  same 
time  their  pride  has  been  gratified  by  this  con- 
tinual reminder  in  their  name  of  the  glories  of 
a wondrous  past. 

The  author  has  dwelt  amongst  these  Men  of 
Tong  for  more  than  forty-six  years  ; he  has  studied 
their  manners,  customs,  languages,  thoughts  ; he 
has  seen  their  old-world  civilisation,  which  seemed 
to  have  secured  for  itself  an  indefinite  if  not  eternal 
future  with  this  conservative  people,  one  of  the 
most  conservative  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ; and 
he  has  seen  the  bursting  of  the  iron  bonds  of 
this  old-time  life,  and  the  commencement  of  a 
new  era  of  progress.  The  vision  of  an  indefinite 
future  perpetuating  a never-changing  order  of 
things,  death-like  and  stagnant,  has  changed  into 
a living,  active  present,  which  presages  good  for 
the  new  future. 

Now  that  he  has  left  all  these  changing  scenes, 
in  the  quiet  of  English  pursuits  he  has  found  a 
pleasure  in  describing  some  of  the  many  phases 
of  Chinese  life  ; and  he  hopes  his  readers  will 
have  an  equal  pleasure  in  the  perusal  of  these 
pages. 

J.  DYER  BALL. 

Hadley  Wood. 

1911. 

xii 


THE  CHINESE  AT  HOME 

CHAPTER  I 

The  Middle  Kingdom 

IS  it  possible  by  a few  broad  strokes  to  picture 
what  is  connoted  by  the  terms  China  and  the 
Chinese  ; to  summarise  and  compress  in  a few 
sentences  and  in  general  terms  a description  of 
the  physical  features  of  the  country,  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  people,  and  their  mental  attitude? 
The  task  is  a well-nigh  impossible  one,  yet  if 
impracticable,  a few  bold  touches  may  whet  the 
appetite  for  a fuller  description  in  the  following 
pages,  when  different  aspects  of  Chinese  life  will 
come  under  review. 

China  has  two  of  the  world’s  greatest  and  most 
famous  rivers — the  Child  of  the  Ocean  (Yang  Tsz 
Kiang)  and  the  Yellow  River — with  hosts  of  other 
rivers  so  numerous  as  to  be  insignificant  and  com- 
paratively unknown  in  the  Western  world,  though 
scores  of  them  would  rank  in  importance  and  size 
with  some  of  the  most  famous  waterways  in  the 

i 


The  Middle  Kingdom 


West.  It  has  mountain  ranges,  magnificent  in  their 
grandeur  and  scenery,  rivalling  any  to  be  found 
in  Great  Britain  or  Ireland.  It  has  immense 
plains,  filled  with  a teeming  population,  and  co- 
equal in  extent  with  w'hole  countries  in  Europe. 
It  has  thousands  of  cities,  great  and  small  ; vast 
hives  of  human  workers,  replete  with  life  and 
vigour  ; enormous  provinces,  each  embracing 
scores  and  hundreds  of  districts  or  counties  ; 
fleets  of  junks,  fishing -craft,  sea-going  vessels, 
and  river-boats,  in  such  numbers  that  no  one  has 
ever  totalled  the  grand  mass,  almost  innumerable 
as  they  are,  to  be  found  at  every  seaport  and 
each  inland  riverine  or  lacustrine  city,  town,  or 
village.  No  country  can  compare  with  China  for 
natural  facilities  of  inland  navigation.  Its  coast- 
line winds  in  and  out,  giving  way  in  bays  and 
gaining  again  in  promontories,  now  merely  holding 
its  own,  now  nearly  cut  off  at  some  peninsula, 
and  then  almost  losing  itself  in  the  delta  of  some 
great  river.  Many  small  islands  stud  the  Yellow 
and  China  Seas,  the  estuaries  of  the  rivers  and 
the  lakes.  Some  are  sacred  with  religious  associa- 
tions, as  Pu  To,  the  haunt  of  Buddhist  temples, 
or  the  Little  Orphan,  in  the  Yang  Tsz.  Lakes 
there  are,  not  a few,  amongst  which  the  palm 
must  be  assigned  to  the  Tung  Ting  (two  hundred 
miles  in  circumference)  and  the  picturesque  Po 
Yang  (ninety  miles  long  by  twenty  broad). 

Such,  then,  in  a few  sentences,  is  China,  form- 
ing one  of  the  most  extensive  dominions  ever 

2 


CHINESE  WATERWAY  AND  BRIDGE 


Its  Population 


swayed  by  a single  Power  in  any  age,  or  any  part 
of  the  world,  with  every  variety  of  soil,  position, 
and  temperature. 

China  has  a population  of  426,000,000,  which 
every  schoolboy  knows  is  reckoned  as  a third  of 
the  human  race.  The  three  great  empires,  the 
British,  the  Russian,  and  the  Chinese,  almost 
monopolise  the  world’s  people  between  them.  The 
other  nations  are  content  with  a few  hundreds  of 
thousands  or  millions  each. 

“ Shut  in  all  round  by  the  vast  mountain  chains 
of  Manchuria,  Mongolia,  and  Tibet,”  “ and  watered 
by  a river  system  unsurpassed  in  the  world,  the 
low-lying  plains  of  China  proper  were  prepared 
for  tillage,  in  times  long  previous  to  the  advent 
of  their  present  inhabitants,  by  a gradual  process 
of  denudation  in  the  highlands,  and  the  resulting 
deposit  of  alluvia  carried  seawards  with  the 
streams.”  The  land  was  thus  made  ready  for  its 
busy  inhabitants  and  occupants,  and  the  soil  ren- 
dered suitable  by  its  depth  and  richness  for 
maintaining  a large  population. 

“ In  the  records  of  the  earliest  Chinese  dynasties 
frequent  allusion  is  made  to  waste  lands  reclaimed 
by  deepening  the  watercourses,  or  by  cutting 
channels  for  the  swollen  floods.  In  this  way  many 
of  the  most  fertile  plains  were  drained  and 
redeemed,  to  supply  the  wants  of  an  increasingly 
numerous  race. 

“ But  the  vastness  of  its  habitable  territory  and 
the  native  richness  of  its  soil  were  not  the  only 

3 


The  Middle  Kingdom 

features  which  favoured  the  growth,  stability,  and 
independence  of  this  great  Empire.  Within  the 
mountain  chains  which  isolate  China  and  its 
dependencies,  almost  every  variety  of  climate  is 
to  be  found.”  “ The  natural  products  render  the 
people  practically  independent  of  the  outer 
world.”  1 

China  was  shut  up  for  centuries  from  European 
intercourse.  The  haughty  arrogance  and  fears  of 
its  rulers  as  effectually  closed  it  up  as  if  its  own 
Great  Wall  encircled  all  its  borders.  It  had  the 
Hermit  Kingdom  of  Corea  as  its  neighbour,  and 
beyond  the  sea  the  hermetically  sealed  Kingdom  of 
the  Rising  Sim  (Japan).  The  wilds  of  Manchuria 
were  to  the  north,  peopled  by  nomad  tribes,  who, 
invigorated  by  the  free  life  of  centuries,  every 
now  and  then  swept  down  upon  the  more  enervated 
inhabitants  to  the  south,  and  took  the  reins  of 
government  into  their  own  hands,  to  be  in 
turn  subdued  by  the  civilisation  and  refinement 
of  the  conquered  people.  At  times  these  wild  men 
of  the  north  swept  past  all  barriers,  overwhelming 
state  after  state,  and  even  came  into  Europe  itself. 

To  the  west  of  China  lay  the  half -frozen  regions 
of  Tibet,  leading  up  by  their  forbidding  heights 
to  the  Roof  of  the  World.  This  land  of  mystery 
had  been  visited  by  only  a few  adventurous  souls, 
and  was  all  but  closed  to  the  foreigner. 

Sweeping  round  to  the  south-east  and  south  were 
the  Shan  States,  Burmah,  Annam,  and  Siam. 

1 Thompson,  The  Land  and  the  People  of  China,  pp.  i,  2. 

4 


Early  Civilisation 

All  round  China  were  barbarians.  Surely,  if 
the  ancient  Greeks  had  a right  to  call  other  nations 
by  what  is  now  considered  an  opprobrious  epithet, 
the  Chinese  had  an  excuse  for  fastening  such  a 
term  on  their  neighbours,  who  were  inferior  to 
them  in  civilisation,  knowledge,  literature,  handi- 
crafts, and  who  further,  on  this  account,  derived 
the  groundwork  of  their  literature — written  lan- 
guage in  some  cases — and  civilisation  from  the 
great  nation  which  lay  in  the  centre  of  their 
world. 

The  Middle  Kingdom  radiated  its  light  abroad 
to  what  seemed  in  the  olden  days  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth,  and  sent  its  armies  north,  south, 
and  west,  and  even  essayed  to  cross  the  ocean  to 
carry  its  victorious  banners  to  success — those 
banners  which  in  most  of  the  conflicts  with  its 
neighbours  led  the  way  to  conquering  hosts. 

This  name,  the  Middle  Kingdom,  taking  its  rise 
in  ancient  times  from  a state  surrounded  by  others, 
has  typified  in  its  better  later-day  rendering  of  the 
Central  Empire,  the  central  position  of  the  Celes- 
tial Empire  in  Eastern  Asia,  and  also,  as  outlined 
above,  the  centre  of  light  and  influence  during 
many  centuries  in  the  past.  The  light  of  civilisa- 
tion has  touched  the  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun 
(Japan),  which  in  its  turn  is  now  repaying,  by  the 
lead  it  is  taking,  the  Empire  to  which  it  is  indebted 
for  so  much. 

This  mighty  Empire  had  been  in  the  past  self- 
centred  to  a very  great  extent.  Her  vast  dominions 


B 


The  Middle  Kingdom 

have,  with  their  almost  boundless  resources,  pro- 
vided well  for  nearly  all  wants,  and  nearly  every 
wish  of  her  people  has  been  gratified.  Is  it  food 
that  is  required  for  her  teeming  population?  The 
myriads  of  tiny  rice-fields  lying  along  the  banks  of 
rivers,  and  climbing  the  hill-sides  with  their  waving 
harvests  ripening  into  golden  grain  under  the  fierce 
tropical  sun  of  the  south,  feed  the  majority  of 
her  peoples,  while  wheat  and  millet  in  the  north 
provide  food  for  the  almost  starving  millions  who 
in  north  or  south  or  east  or  west,  if  a crop  fails, 
find  themselves  at  once  at  Death’s  door. 

To  give  variety  to  what  might  be  considered  a 
monotonous  diet,  numerous  vegetables  are  assidu- 
ously cultivated  by  the  ubiquitous  market -gardener, 
whose  ceaseless  toil  is  rewarded  by  a great  variety 
of  greenstuff s and  roots.  Under  the  different  climes 
of  China  a varied  fruit  crop  is  produced,  as  her 
ample  dominions  range  from  the  cold  north  to  the 
sunny  south — chestnuts,  walnuts,  peaches,  plums, 
and  pears,  as  well  as  oranges,  pumeloes,  custard- 
apples,  and  many  others. 

To  add  to  the  delights  of  the  table,  pigs  wallow 
in  the  mire  in  every  village  street,  and  in  poor 
men’s  houses  are  as  often  to  be  found  as  in 
Paddy’s,  burrowing  under  table  and  bed,  while 
chickens  are  so  common  as  to  be  even  kept  by 
the  dwellers  on  the  water  in  their  boats.  If  his 
conscience  does  not  forbid  him,  an  occasional  relish 
of  beef  may  be  enjoyed  with  the  Chinaman’s  frugal 
meal.  Nature  also  provides  him  fish  from  the 

6 


Nature’s  Provision 


rivers  that  drain  his  lands,  and  any  one  may  catch 
them  by  any  device  he  likes  anywhere  and  every- 
where, by  day  or  night,  without  let  or  hindrance 
or  fee. 

Not  content  with  the  fish  which  Nature  gives 
him  free,  man  further  provides  for  his  tastes  by 
carefully  rearing  pond  fish  in  those  artificially  con- 
structed adjuncts  to  nearly  every  village.  More- 
over, the  harvests  of  the  fields  are  supplemented 
by  an  aftermath  of  finny  tribes,  which,  introduced 
into  the  rice-fields,  have  grown  with  the  grain, 
and  (swimming  amongst  the  stalks  as  these  slowly 
shoot  out  of  the  water)  ripen  with  its  fulness  of 
ear,  so  as  to  be  fit  to  be  a savoury  dish  to  accom- 
pany the  cooked  rice  on  the  tables  of  those  who 
have  thus  providently  prepared  both  ready  for 
future  needs.  At  the  same  time  the  harvest  of 
the  sea  has  been  reaped  by  fishermen,  who  have 
braved  the  storm  and  typhoon  to  net  their  gains 
from  the  tossing  ridges  of  the  briny  waves. 

Is  it  clothing  that  is  wanted?  The  silkworm 
spins  John  Chinaman’s  silk  for  him  ; the  cotton- 
plant  furnishes  material  for  his  jacket  and  trousers, 
and  the  wild  beasts  their  fur,  and  even  the  un- 
yeaned lamb  gives  its  skin  to  keep  the  wealthy 
warm.  For  centuries  everything  needed  for  cloth- 
ing he  has  been  able  to  find  in  his  own  land. 

Is  it  fuel  that  is  required?  Coal  is  to  be  found 
in  abundance,  though  not  so  largely  employed  as 
by  Western  nations.  Forests,  by  improvident 
felling,  have  receded  to  the  remoter  parts  of  the 

7 


The  Middle  Kingdom 

country,  but  they  still  yield  charcoal  and  firewood 
and  building  materials  in  abundance.  Minerals 
of  almost  every  kind  abound,  and  are  largely  used 
in  arts  and  manufactures. 

So  well  provided  thus  in  every  respect  is  John 
Chinaman  that  he  has  hitherto  needed  but  little 
from  others  to  satisfy  his  wants  or  needs. 

As  to  things  that  more  concern  the  mind  j the 
range  of  literature  has  till  recently  satisfied  all 
his  mental  cravings,  so  extensive  it  is,  and  so 
wide  its  ramifications.  Trained  within  certain 
limits,  John  Chinaman  has  not  cared,  till  of  late, 
to  range  beyond  these  limitations,  and  so  superior 
to  all  around  him  was  what  was  provided  for 
his  mental  culture  in  his  own  land,  that  only 
present-day  enlightenment  has  opened  his  eyes 
to  the  superiority  of  much  of  Western  literature. 

The  government  of  this  mighty  Empire  has  been 
elaborated  by  the  people’s  own  unaided  efforts, 
though  doubtless  based  on  ancient  ideas  which 
may  have  been  brought  with  the  first  arrivals  when 
they  settled  in  their  future  home  ; and  admirably 
adapted  it  has  been  for  an  Oriental  race,  and 
infinitely  superior  it  is  to  that  of  some  of  the 
other  Eastern  nations,  while  the  civilisation  of  the 
people  has  developed,  but  little  touched  or  affected 
by  other  races. 

As  regards  religion,  the  nation  has  clung 
tenaciously  to  its  own  beliefs  through  long  ages, 
though  largely  availing  itself  of  other  faiths,  some 
of  them  in  combination  with  its  own.  Its  basic 

8 


BRAIDING  THE  QUEUE. 


A Self-sufficient  Land 


elements  are  those  of  primeval  times,  such  as 
ancestor  worship,  &c.,  on  which  a superstructure 
of  ethics  has  been  imposed,  while,  as  heroes  were 
deified,  a hierarchy  of  state  gods  has  been  added. 
Blended  with  this  in  the  native  mind  has  been  a 
system  of  ethics  styled  Confucianism.  All  this 
one  may  describe  as  purely  Chinese,  to  which 
may  also  be  added  the  mysticism  of  Lao  Tsz,  the 
founder  of  Taoism,  whose  mind  may  have  received 
some  enlightenment  from  the  West. 

The  distinctly  foreign  element  came  in  with  the 
introduction  of  Buddhism  from  India,  which, 
though  decidedly  foreign,  has  had  a Chinese 
impress  fixed  on  it,  and  has  been  adapted  to  the 
requirements  of  the  Celestial  race.  The  latter- 
day  idolatrous  Buddhism  overshadowed  Taoism, 
which  degenerated  into  gross  superstition,  and 
Chinese-like  again  borrowed  from  Buddhism  idols 
and  beliefs,  the  result  being  that  the  Chinese  mind 
has  taken  over  this  mass  of  beliefs,  and  formed 
an  amalgam,  a sort  of  mechanical  combination 
of  all,  which  serves  for  religion. 

To  summarise  : John  Chinaman,  take  it  all  in 
all,  in  the  past,  with  but  few  exceptions,  has  found 
in  his  own  Middle  Kingdom  all  his  wants 
supplied,  as  far  as  material  conditions  are  con- 
cerned ; and,  as  regards  the  kingdom  of  his 
mind,  his  own  country’s  sages  and  scholars  have 
also  supplied  his  mental  diet,  clothed  his  thoughts 
in  fitting  speech,  and  crystallised  them  into 
literature. 


9 


The  Middle  Kingdom 

In  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  celebrated 
Venetian  traveller  Marco  Polo  penetrated  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  world,  his  journey  lay 
through  Central  Asia.  This  seemed  the  most  easy 
way  of  approach  to  those  old-time  travellers, 
though  others,  buffeted  by  many  seas  in  their  frail 
craft,  braved  a course  which  brought  them  finally 
to  the  southern  shores  of  China. 

In  later  days  this  last  was  the  regular  route 
taken  by  the  East  Indiamen,  the  merchant  ships 
in  the  employ  of  the  old  East  India  Company, 
and  in  still  later  days  by  the  New  York  tea- 
clippers.  This  course,  as  far  as  the  Eastern 
world  is  concerned,  is  still  adhered  to  by  many 
a traveller  in  the  present  day  ; but  the  Suez  Canal 
has  lessened  the  voyage  from  one  of  three  to  five 
months  round  the  Cape,  to  one  of  five  weeks,  or 
less  than  a month  if  the  steamer  is  joined  at 
France  or  Italy. 

Our  American  cousins  have  laid  iron  tracks 
across  their  continent,  so  as  to  reach  China  by 
the  .Western  Ocean — scarce  ever  ploughed  before 
the  last  hundred  years — and  by  this  route  arrive 
at  the  centre  of  the  China  coast  at  Shanghai. 

Last  of  all,  the  Siberian  and  Manchurian  Rail- 
ways enable  those  who  so  desire  to  journey  from 
Europe  to  the  north  of  China  in  fourteen  or  fifteen 
days  ; and,  when  the  line  is  doubled,  the  time 
will  even  be  shorter.  Thus  the  quickest  way  now 
is  what  was  the  longest  way  a short  time  since, 
and  is  almost  a reverting  to  the  old  road  to 
this  Empire. 


io 


The  Wandering  Chinaman 

In  ancient  times  the  dwellers  in  the  Middle 
Kingdom  journeyed  in  their  clumsy,  lumbering 
junks  far  towards  what  was  to  them  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth — to  the  Persian  Gulf,  to 
the  Arabian  Sea  and  neighbouring  countries.  Then 
these  adventurous  voyages  ceased,  and  next  the 
stranger  came  to  explore  the  mystic  land  of 
Cathay  and  settle  on  its  borders,  or  rather  coast- 
line, and,  as  the  years  rolled  on,  in  ever-increasing 
numbers.  Finally,  the  tide  of  emigration  set  in, 
when  John  Chinaman  began  to  people  some  of 
the  waste  places  of  the  earth,  and  transform  them 
by  his  skill  and  industry  into  lands  producing 
wealth  and  valuable  colonies.  Gradually  learning 
that  all  knowledge,  civilisation,  learning,  and 
wisdom  are  not  centred  in  the  Middle  Kingdom, 
students  are  flocking  now  to  the  Lands  of  the 
West,  to  acquire  what  they  find  is  still  wanting 
in  their  own  highly-favoured  land. 


ii 


CHAPTER  II 


The  Black-haired  Race 

THE  Black-haired  Race  is  a most  fitting 
descriptive  term  for  the  people  of  China, 
who,  to  a man,  have  long,  lank,  coarse,  black  hair. 
One  would  infer  that  originally  this  was  not  the 
case.  The  little  children  have  a brown  shade 
in  their  locks,  which  also  do  not  appear  so  coarse 
as  when  childhood  has  changed  to  manhood.  This 
lighter  shade  is  especially  noticeable  when  the 
sunlight  shines  directly  on  their  baby  heads.  The 
black  colour  has,  however,  been  the  national  dis- 
tinguishing trait  from  the  dawn  of  history,  and 
it  differentiated  them  from  any  blonde  race  which 
may  have  peopled  Central  Asia.  Older  Chinese 
myths  and  traditions  to  this  effect  receive  possibly 
some  support  from  this  designation  ; for  were 
there  no  other  race  known  to  the  ancient  Chinese 
than  their  own,  and  were  there  no  others  with 
light  hair,  and  thus  different  from  theirs,  one  can 
scarcely  suppose  this  name  would  have  been 
applied  to  themselves  by  themselves. 


The  Queue  and  Its  Care 

Yet  for  three  centuries  past  most  of  this  black 
shock  of  hair  has  been  shaved  off  the  head,  a 
round  patch  only  being  allowed  to  grow  on  the 
top  and  the  back  of  the  head.  This  hair  is 
encouraged  to  grow  as  long  as  possible,  and  is 
braided  into  a queue.  This  custom  is  a result 
of  the  Manchu  conquest  of  China,  for  the  victors 
made  it  a sign  of  subjugation  that  their  newly- 
acquired  subjects  should  conform  to  their  fashions 
in  this  respect.  The  great  esteem  in  which  the 
Manchus  held  the  horse  was  doubtless  the  reason 
for  the  adoption  of  this  curious  style  of  wearing 
the  hair. 

So  insistent  were  these  seventeenth-century  con- 
querors of  the  Chinese  on  the  razor  being  applied 
to  the  top  of  the  head  (there  is  little  use  for  it 
elsewhere),  that  failure  to  conform  was  cause 
enough  for  the  wearer  to  lose  his  head. 

To  the  European  in  China  the  care  bestowed 
on  their  long  hair  by  Chinese  men  is  one  of  the 
most  curious  of  sights.  No-hair-brushes  are  used, 
but  the  hair  is  well  combed  out,  as  a rule,  every 
day.  It  is  difficult  at  first  to  think  that  these 
long  tresses,  three  or  four  feet  or  more  in  length, 
belong  to  a man.  Carefully  combed  out  by  him- 
self or  the  barber,  the  hair  is  plaited  into  a long 
queue,  in  the  common  style  of  three  strands,  and 
eked  out  in  length  still  further  by  a piece  of 
cord  till  it  reaches  the  knees  or  heels,  and  swings 
and  sways  with  every  motion  of  the  body. 
Chaucer,  in  the  “ Knight’s  Tale,”  might  be  de- 

i3 


The  Black-haired  Race 


scribing  the  Chinese  queue  ; for  all  that  is 
required  is  to  substitute  black  for  yellow,  and 
change  “ her  ” to  “ his  ” in  the  lines — 

“ Her  yellow  hair  was  braided  in  a tresse 
Behinde  her  baclce,  a yarde  longe,  I guesse.” 

Thus  suspended  down  the  back  the  queue  is  apt 
to  be  in  the  way  when  the  wearer  is  at  work. 
It  is  then  rolled  into  a knot  on  the  back  of  the 
head  or  neck,  or  loosely  coiled  round  the  head 
or  shoulders,  and  thus  it  is  out  of  the  way.  This 
is  the  equivalent  of  our  Western  condition  of  being 
in  one’s  shirt-sleeves,  and  the  workman  or  servant 
hastens  to  uncoil  and  let  the  queue  down  when 
coming  into  the  presence  of  his  superior  or  master. 
When  the  owner  is  putting  on  his  outer  robe  the 
queue  has,  of  course,  to  be  pulled  out,  as  it  lies 
down  the  back  of  the  inner  garment. 

The  cyclist  brings  the  end  of  his  queue  round 
from  his  back,  and  tucks  it  into  his  breast  pocket 
or  the  top  of  his  leggings,  to  prevent  it  being 
entangled  in  his  back  wheel.  If  the  queue  be 
caught  in  machinery,  the  poor  Chinaman  may 
be  scalped. 

One  of  the  most  comical  sights  the  author  has 
ever  seen  was  a row  of  Chinese  sitting  in  a hill 
tramcar  in  Hong  Kong.  As  the  tram  went  up  the 
hill  at  a steep  slope  of  one  foot  in  two,  all  the 
queues  hung  out  behind  the  wearers  at  an  angle 
of  450. 

These  queues  are  the  cause  of  the  abundance 

14 


The  Beard  and  Moustache 


of  the  barbers’  shops  and  itinerant  barbers  found 
in  China.  In  the  extreme  south  of  China  these 
men  are  invariably  Hakkas.1  The  calling  of  a 
barber  is  one  of  the  most  despised  in  China.  Not 
until  the  third  generation  can  the  descendant  of 
one  be  allowed  to  compete  at  the  Civil  Service 
Examinations.  The  other  classes  which  share  with 
the  barber  his  exclusion  from  the  nation’s  literary 
contests  are  actors,  boat-people,  and  slaves. 

The  Chinaman’s  beard  gives  him  but  little 
trouble.  His  anxiety  is  rather  the  want  of  it  ; 
for,  like  many  Asiatics,  his  hair,  except  on  the  top 
of  his  head,  is  scanty  in  growth,  and  it  is  well-nigh 
impossible  for  him  to  grow  a!  full  beard.  This 
may  account  for  the  origin  of  the  custom,  which 
has  the  force  of  law,  of  no  one  growing  a beard 
till  he  is  forty-five  years  of  age.  At  that  age  the 
cultivation  of  a moustache  is  permitted.  This 
consists,  as  a rule,  of  a few  stiff  hairs,  forming 
a sparse  fringe  over  his  mouth.  So  proud  is  the 
gentleman  of  his  moustache  that  he  may  often 
be  seen  carrying  a tiny  bone  comb,  hanging  to  a 
button  of  his  coat.  This  he  passes  through  the 
scanty  hairs  every  now  and  then  in  public  with  as 
much  nonchalance  as  if  he  were  simply  stroking 

1 Hakkas  constitute  the  latest  immigrants  in  the  southern 
parts.  They  flowed  into  these  portions  of  the  land  from  the 
central  provinces  of  the  Empire.  They  were  the  last  wave  which 
followed  the  natural  law  that  set  the  tide  flowing  from  the  north. 
This,  during  the  last  four  thousand  years  or  more,  resulted  in  the 
gradual  populating  of  the  Empire  from  the  northern  regions  in 
which  the  earliest  arrivals  in  their  new  home  settled. 

15 


The  Black-haired  Race 


his  moustache,  as  the  Chinese  old  man  is  fond 
of  stroking  his  grey  beard. 

Some  twenty  years  or  so  later,  the  Chinaman 
is  allowed  still  more  liberty,  and  he  essays  to 
grow  what  by  courtesy  is  termed  a beard.  It 
consists  of  a scanty  covering  for  the  chin,  scarcely 
extending  to  his  cheeks.  As  to  whiskers,  a few 
tufts  of  long  hairs  may  stand  for  them;  but  very 
often  Nature  is  satisfied  with  what  has  already 
been  done,  and  attempts  no  more  in  the  way  of 
hair  on  John  Chinaman’s  face. 

Should  he  chance,  however,  to  be  favoured 
anywhere  on  his  face  with  a mole  which  produces 
a few  hairs,  these  are  allowed  to  stick  out,  even  if 
he  has  not  arrived  at  the  proper  age  to  grow  a 
moustache  or  beard.  Thus  tolerated,  they  look 
very  odd  on  the  bare  shaven  expanse  of  his  broad 
face. 

The  barbers  are  quite  an  institution  in  China. 
Barbers’  shops  are  open  to  the  street — as,  indeed, 
are  nearly  all  the  shops — and  the  whole  operation 
of  shaving,  with  the  general  mysteries  of  the  trade, 
is  revealed  to  the  passer-by.  No  soap  is  used 
in  shaving,  but  hot  water  is  rubbed  over  the  head 
and  face,  and  then  the  razor  is  applied. 

How  the  Chinaman  stands  the  torture  of  a 
scrape  without  the  mollifying  influence  of  soap  is 
a mystery  to  an  Englishman.  One  of  the  latter 
described  to  the  author  a shave  he  experienced 
a la  Chinois,  and  the  agony  he  underwent  must 
have  been  considerable. 

16 


A BARP.FK 


Toilet  Enormities 


Of  recent  years  the  more  convenient  foreign 
razor  has  come  into  fashion ; but  previously  the 
awkward  wedge-shaped  Chinese  razor,  heavy  and 
thick  at  the  back,  and  coming  to  the  necessary 
edge  at  the  front,  was  employed. 

No  paper  is  wasted  on  the  operation,  but  the 
falling  hairs  are  caught  in  a small  tray.  Hair- 
cutting is  unnecessary,  as  what  is  not  wanted  is 
shaved  clean  off,  and  what  is  left  is  encouraged 
to  grow  to  its  full  length.  If  the  patient  requires 
it,  the  delicate  operation  of  cleaning  out  the  eyes 
and  ears  is  also  undertaken.  This  is  done  with 
tiny  brushes  and  instruments,  to  the  no  little 
eventual  detriment  of  both  eyes  and  ears.  For 
the  barber  probes  into  the  depths  of  the  ears, 
with  no  knowledge  of  their  intricate  nature,  and, 
with  equal  if  not  greater  ignorance  of  the  still 
more  tender  and  delicate  construction  of  the  eyes, 
proceeds  to  turn  the  lids  over  and  clean  their 
surfaces.  This  produces  redness  and  irritation, 
which  is  thought  to  be  a sign  that  another  visit 
is  required  to  the  untrained  surgeon,  with  the  result 
that  often  the  eyesight  is  ruined.  Similar  results 
ensue  to  the  ear,  from  the  ruthless  penetration  into 
its  inner  passages. 

Another  practice  that  the  Chinaman  is  very  fond 
of  having  his  surgeon-barber  perform  on  him  is 
“ pounding  the  bones  ” for  aches  and  pains.  The 
barber  executes  a tattoo  on  the  back,  or  any  other 
part  of  the  human  frame  with  his  closed  fists, 
to  the  delight  of  the  sufferer. 

i7 


The  Black-haired  Race 


The  rapid  growth  of  the  hair  on  the  parts  that 
are  shaven  produces  a rank  crop,  and  this  has 
to  be  kept  down  by  repeated  visits  to  the  barber. 
The  frequency  of  these  depends  on  the  position  a 
man  occupies  in  society  and  on  his  purse.  Excep- 
tion must  be  made  in  the  case  of  mourning,  when 
for  weeks  and  months  the  head  and  face  of  the 
Chinaman  presents  a hideous  spectacle,  as  all  hair 
is  allowed  to  grow  then,  till  the  period  of  mourn- 
ing is  over.  To  add  to  this  unsightly  spectacle, 
instead  of  the  red  or  black  cord  in  the  queue,  blue 
in  half  or  slight  mourning,  is  worn  in  the  south 
of  China,  and  white  in  deep  mourning.  This, 
added  to  the  black,  coarse,  lank  hair  sticking  up 
in  short  bristles,  is  most  ghastly. 

The  Chinese  calendar  is  full  of  lucky  and 
unlucky  days;  consequently  there  are  days  when 
it  is  well  to  shave,  and  days  when  it  is  well  to 
refrain  from  shaving;  and  due  regard  must  be 
prid  to  these  by  the  Chinaman  who  would  avoid 
disaster. 

The  price  differs  for  a shave  in  different  parts 
of  the  country,  but  a halfpenny  in  some  places 
is  a reasonable  charge  for  the  operation.  Even 
this,  or  less,  seems  to  be  beyond  the  means  of 
the  beggar,  who  doubtless  also  thinks  that,  added 
to  his  rags  and  tatters,  a tangled  mass  of  coarse, 
matted  hair  is  more  likely  to  draw  a cash  from 
the  charitable. 

The  strangest  sight  is  to  see  a whole  nation  in 
mourning,  and  therefore  unshorn.  This  happens 

18 


Woman  and  Her  Coiffure 


when  the  Emperor  dies.  Timely  notice  is  gener- 
ally given  before  the  official  notice  of  this  mourning 
is  promulgated,  so  that  every  one  goes  to  the 
barber,  and  gets  a clean  head,  to  start  on  the 
long  period  of  abstention. 

The  women  allow  their  hair  to  grow  all  over 
the  head.  In  girlhood  it  is  plaited  into  a queue 
which  hangs  down  the  back;  though  of  late  years 
some  of  the  younger  women  have  worn  their  hair 
in  a little  knot  at  the  side  of  the  head,  where  it 
looks  very  peculiar. 

The  coiffure  into  which  the  married  women  bind 
their  hair  varies  much  with  the  place,  the  fashion, 
and  the  position  of  the  wearer.  As  a rule,  the 
hair  is  plastered  down  over  the  head  with  a 
gelatinous  gum  made  by  soaking  the  shavings  of 
a certain  tree  in  water.  This  shows  off  the 
contour  of  the  head  to  advantage.  .With  Can- 
tonese working -women,  or  those  of  a lower  order 
of  society,  the  hair  is  often  made  into  a little  knob 
at  the  back  of  the  head.  This  is  varied  by  others, 
and  sometimes  by  those  a little  higher  in  the  social 
scale,  by  an  approach  to  two  wings  at  the  sides 
of  the  head,  and  at  the  back  to  what  looks  like 
the  handle  of  a teapot.  This  style  was  worn  by 
the  most  fashionable  some  fifty  years  ago  in  a 
very  exaggerated  form.  A quieter  mode  now 
prevails,  though  eccentricities  reveal  themselves 
every  now  and  then.  The  styles  differ  widely  in 
different  districts  of  the  country,  the  author  having 
seen  in  Soo-Chow  long  love -locks  hanging  down 
the  sides  of  the  cheeks. 


19 


The  Black-haired  Race 


Little  boys  often  have  all  the  hair  shaved  off,  or 
sometimes  it  is  left  growing,  and  tied  into  two 
tufts  on  the  sides  of  the  head.  When  a clean  poll 
is  the  boy’s  style,  then  he  is  dubbed,  in  pleasant 
badinage,  “ monk,”  as  the  Buddhist  priests  or 
monks  have  all  the  hair  shaven  off  their  heads. 

When  the  more  elaborate  way  of  dressing  the 
hair  is  in  favour,  the  coiffure  has  to  last  for 
several  days.  At  night  the  woman  sleeps  with 
the  back  of  the  neck  on  a hard  earthen  or  bamboo 
or  softer  leather  pillow,  for  fear  of  disarranging 
what  has  taken  much  art,  labour,  and  time  to 
accomplish.  No  frames  or  pads  are  used  by  the 
women  in  doing  up  the  hair,  nor  is  false  hair 
employed,  except  when  absolutely  necessary  to  hide 
baldness.  No  hair-brushes  are  used;  the  hair  is 
combed.  The  combs  are  generally  of  wood. 

Most  women  apply  a scent,  which  has  rather  an 
unpleasant  odour,  to  the  hair  ; but  it  must  be  liked 
by  the  Chinese,  though  the  author  has  come  across 
one  Chinese  gentleman  who  thought  it  disagree- 
able. The  blind  singing-girls  have  their  back 
hair  done  into  a long  arrangement,  which  is 
stiffened,  so  that  it  sticks  straight  down  the  back 
for  about  a foot. 


20 


CHAPTER  III 


The  Life  of  a Dead  Chinaman 

IT  may  well  be  said  of  the  Chinese,  “ The  dead 
ye  have  always  with  you.”  Beyond  the 
suburbs  of  the  living  cities,  a vast  necropolis  in 
every  case  is  to  be  found,  rivalling,  in  the  number 
of  its  inhabitants,  the  living  population  which  has 
supplied  for  scores  of  years  and  centuries  the  future 
inmates  for  its  silent  dwellings. 

In  China,  strange  in  so  many  of  its  customs 
and  so  many  of  its  ideas,  the  dead  rule  the  living 
in  thought ; they  rule  them  in  custom ; they  rule 
them  throughout  their  lives,  by  fear  and  the  dread 
of  calamity,  if  everything  is  not  done  to  propitiate 
them — an  obsession  at  times  too  awful  for  words. 

The  paradoxical  reigns  supreme  in  Chinese  life, 
and  it  is  not  seldom  the  case  that  an  individual 
insignificant  in  life  becomes  influential  by  ceasing 
to  live.  Near  Chao  Chow  Fu  there  is  an  imposing 
grave,  which  one  passes  on  the  road  to  the  city. 
A double  row  of  animals  leads  up  to  it.  It  seems 
that  originally  this  was  only  an  ordinary  grave, 
with  nothing  special  to  mark  it  out  as  different 

c 


21 


The  Life  of  a Dead  Chinaman 


from  the  hundreds  that  lie  on  the  hill-side  or  plain, 
“ where  heaves  the  turf  in  many  a mould’ring 
heap.”  Now  it  is  sought  by  many  who,  when  he 
was  alive,  would  not  have  given  a passing  thought 
to  the  humble  and  insignificant  individual  whose 
body  sleeps  in  this  narrow  cell.  Now,  according 
to  popular  belief,  his  hands  sway  the  course  of 
destiny,  in  response  to  those  who  have  known  how 
to  provide  for  his  posthumous  comfort  by  placing 
his  grave  in  a good  position,  in  fact,  as  governed 
by  the  laws  of  fung-shui. 

The  Chinese  have  a proverb  that  “ The  most 
important  thing  in  life  is  to  be  buried  well.”  A 
new  idea  is,  in  this  connection,  imported  into  the 
old  Hebrew  saying,  that  “ the  day  of  death  is  better 
than  the  day  of  one’s  birth  ” (Ecclesiastes  vii.  i). 

The  most  of  us  think  one  soul  is  quite  enough  to 
look  after.  The  Chinaman  has  three — at  least  he 
believes  he  has — besides  seven  animal  spirits,  all 
centred  in  his  being.  A dissolution  occurs  on  his 
demise,  and  his  souls  are  scattered.  One  goes  to 
the  future  world  to  receive  the  rewards  or  punish- 
ments due  for  the  deeds  done  in  the  body,  one 
remains  at  the  grave,  and  one  goes  into  the 
ancestral  tablet.  This  last  is  an  article  made  of 
several  pieces  of  wood,  fitted  together,  on  the 
outside  and  inside  of  which  are  written  the  names, 
titles,  and  dates  of  birth  and  death  of  the  deceased. 
The  tablet  is  set  up,  among  wealthy  and  large 
families  and  clans,  in  the  ancestral  hall. 

This  hall  is  a building  forming  a general 

22 


The  Soul,  the  Man,  and  the  Clan 

rendezvous  for  the  family,  and  a centre  for  the 
transaction  of  business  pertaining  to  the  family 
or  clan.  Large  estates  are  sometimes  held  in 
trust  for  the  good  of  all  belonging  to  the 
family,  and  financial  considerations  bind  to- 
gether the  scattered  members  of  the  clan,  as 
well  as  ties  of  kindred.  To  be  expelled  from  the 
clan  is  felt  to  be  a keen  disgrace  ; and  this 
ostracism  carries  with  it  the  penalty  of  being  cut 
off  from  all  the  privileges  appertaining  to  the 
clan — help  in  time  of  need,  sustenance  in  old  age, 
support  in  difficulty,  and  fellowship  and  friendship. 

In  this  clanship  and  in  the  ancestor  worship 
lies  the  stronghold  of  the  old  system.  It  is  a com- 
paratively easy  matter  to  give  up  the  ordinary 
worship  of  idols  ; that  is  not  engrained  in  the 
Chinaman’s  nature.  But — even  if  he  sees  the 

absurdity  of  a tripartite  soul,  coexistent  and  re- 
quiring separate  habitations  when  the  body,  which 
was  the  common  lodging-house  of  all,  has  become 
uninhabitable  by  the  effluxion  of  time  and  decay — 
nevertheless,  with  what  one  writer  has  described  as 
the  turbidity  of  the  Chinese  mind,  he  accepts  it 
and  clings  to  it.  What  holds  him  with  a firmer 
grip  than  mere  faith  in  it  is  a knowledge  of  the 
dire  consequences  which  would  ensue,  were  he  to 
act  upon  a belief  in  the  absurdity  of  the  whole 
matter.  The  excommunication  from  his  clan  is 
so  serious  a thing  that  he  hesitates  to  make  himself 
an  outcast.  With  no  old  age  pension  or  poor- 
house  to  fall  back  upon,  if  he  goes  ; and  with  the 

23 


The  Life  of  a Dead  Chinaman 


glamour  and  substantial  results  accruing  from 
office  and  literary  distinction  before  him  if  he  stays, 
the  consequences  of  revolt  are  serious  enough. 
If  the  conscience  does  not  hold  supreme  sway 
over  his  being,  principles  are  apt  to  go  by  the 
board. 

Filial  piety  is  supposed  to  be  the  motive  power 
for  the  reverence  of  the  dead.  Not  for  a moment 
would  the  author  deny  this  virtue  as  a factor  in 
Chinese  ancestral  worship  ; but,  after  all  that  can 
be  said  for  this  aspect  of  the  case,  it  still  remains 
that  one  of  the  chief  and  most  potent  causes  of 
the  reverence  and  worship  of  the  dead  in  China  is 
fear  of  what  might  result  from  not  propitiating 
the  departed  spirits. 

Another  contributory  cause  is  “ olo  custom,” 
which  rules  with  stronger  sway  in  the  East  than  in 
the  West. 

To  understand  the  origin  of  this  curious  cult,  we 
must  go  back  to  the  infancy  of  nations.  Chris- 
tianity, with  the  higher  civilisation  it  has  brought 
with  it,  has  caused  us  to  leave  such  things  behind  ; 
for  nations  as  well  as  man  when  in  the  child  state 
spake  as  a child,  understood  as  a child,  and  thought 
as  a child.  China,  with  its  reverence  for  the  dead 
past,  with  its  ultra-conservatism,  with  its  rigid 
adherence  to  the  customs  sanctioned  by  antiquity, 
has  clung  to  ancestor  worship,  which  most  of  the 
other  nations  of  the  world  have  long  grown  out  of. 

But  though  ancestor  worship  be  a survival  of 
the  most  primitive  times,  a relic  of  early  religion, 

24 


A Supreme  Duty 

with  the  Chinese  it  is  at  the  root  of  all  things  ; it 
permeates  nearly  everything.  It  is  so  woven  into 
the  warp  and  woof  of  human  existence  in  the  Far 
East  that  it  even  seems  to  be  an  integral  part  of 
the  human  being.  Follow  up  any  subject  to  its 
origin,  to  its  present  motive  force,  to  its  raison 
d'etre,  and  the  chances  are  that  lying  hidden  at  the 
root  of  the  matter  is  ancestor  worship.  From  the 
Emperor  on  his  throne  down  to  the  meanest  of  his 
subjects,  the  influence  of  this  cult  makes  itself 
felt  in  ways  the  most  incomprehensible  to  one 
who  has  been  brought  up  and  lived  under  totally 
different  conditions  on  the  other  side  of  the  globe. 

Of  late  years  a succession  of  minors  has 
ascended  the  throne  in  China.  Ancestral  worship 
is  the  cause  of  this  ; for  it  would  never  do  for 
the  new  monarch,  who  has  to  worship  his  pre- 
decessor, to  perform  the  ancestral  rites  in  honour 
of  one  younger  than  himself. 

Not  seldom  the  sentence  passed  on  some  prisoner 
is  light,  as  compared  with  the  just  reward  for  his 
crimes  laid  down  in  the  statute-book  ; and  why? 
Because  ancestral  worship  puts  in  a more  power- 
ful plea  for  mitigation  of  sentence  than  any  other 
circumstances  which  law  could  take  cognisance  of, 
or  lawyers  could  think  of,  in  a country  where 
lawyers  as  such  are  unknown.  All  that  is  neces- 
sary is  that  the  culprit  claim  to  be  the  one  who 
should  offer  the  sacrifices  to  the  manes  of  his 
deceased  parents. 

This  custom  affects  the  eldest  son,  or,  more 


25 


The  Life  of  a Dead  Chinaman 


especially,  an  only  son.  The  plea  of  being  the  only 
son,  and  consequently  the  only  support  of  an  aged 
mother,  is  constantly  advanced  in  Hong  Kong 
courts  of  justice.  It  receives  the  scant  attention 
our  customs  accord  to  such  a reason  for  the 
mitigation  of  sentence  or  for  an  unqualified  pardon. 
In  a Chinese  court,  it  would,  if  proved  true,  be 
acted  on.  The  ultimate  cause  of  many  a social 
custom,  rule  of  etiquette,  code  of  action,  is  found 
to  be  based  on  this  principle  ; and  most  rigid  is 
the  conformity  required  to  its  minutest  maxims, 
upon  which  to  a large  extent  the  fabric  of  society 
is  based. 

It  is  absolutely  necessary,  for  example,  that  a 
man  have  a son  to  perform  the  pious  rites  for 
him  ; hence,  from  the  Chinese  point  of  view,  a 
sufficient  reason  for  polygamy.  If,  after  marriage, 
no  infant  of  the  required  sex  appears  to  perform 
the  sacrifices  and  offer  the  prayers  to  the  father, 
when  deceased,  which  is  the  prerogative  of  the 
eldest  son,  then  a concubine  or  secondary  wife,  or 
subintroducta  mulier , is  procured,  to  fulfil  the  hopes 
of  every  married  man.  For  this  reason  nearly 
every  man,  with  the  rarest  exception,  is  married  in 
China,  and  nearly  every  woman  too.  Should  the 
second  wife  thus  taken  only  increase  the  family  by 
daughters,  or  should  she  prove  childless,  a third 
wife  is  added,  and  so  on  till  the  desired  end  is 
attained.  Failing  all  issue,  a relative  may  be 
adopted,  to  fulfil  the  functions  of  a son.  If  this 
be  impossible,  an  outsider  may  be  taken  in  to  fill 

26 


The  Three  Souls 


the  place  of  a son.  Here,  then,  is  the  chief  reason 
for  the  semi-legalised  concubinage  in  vogue  in 
China. 

Again,  the  tie  that  binds  the  wandering  Celestial 
to  his  homeland  is  ancestral  worship  ; nor  is  the 
tie  broken  by  death.  In  life  he  returns,  if  possible, 
from  distant  climes  to  worship  at  the  tombs,  and 
see  his  ancient  mother,  and  incidentally  his  wife, 
who  perhaps  has  been  married  to  him  in  his 
absence.  At  death  his  coffined  bones  are  returned 
to  be  buried  at  his  ancestral  home,  where  due 
reverence  may  be  paid  to  his  spirits,  for  their  good 
and  that  of  his  descendants.  Long  and  tedious  are 
the  journeys  of  these  sacred  remains  from  one  end 
of  the  Empire  to  the  other,  so  that,  though  a man 
may  have  died  far  from  home,  his  remains  shall 
not  be  absent  from  their  right  resting-place  at 
last.1 

If  a Chinaman  finds  three  souls  a handful,  what 
must  his  descendants  feel  with  his  three  on  their 
hands  I The  seven  animal  spirits  are  evidently  of 
little  account  after  death,  as  these  grosser  parts 
of  his  spiritual  nature  shrink,  shrivel  up,  and  revert 
at  death  to  their  original  elements,  and  sink  to 
earth,  but  all  three  souls  have  to  be  propitiated 
with  offerings  to  meet  their  wants.  The  Chinese 
believe  that  neglect  will  bring  to  the  family  in  its 
train  misery,  wretchedness,  j>enury,  and  want,  and 

1 The  author  knows  of  at  least  one  instance  where  a friend  or 
relative  brought  the  bones  back  mingled  with  other  effects 
in  a box. 


27 


The  Life  of  a Dead  Chinaman 


the  loss  of  what  they  might  otherwise  have  in- 
herited in  the  way  of  official  emoluments  and 
literary  distinction. 

For  burial,  “ a low  position,  where  the  soil  is 
damp,”  is  to  be  avoided,  as  white  ants  would  soon 
riddle  such  a coffin  in  such  a place,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  body  lying  in  moisture.  Such  a condition  of 
the  coffin,  “ it  is  believed,  the  dead  resent  with  a 
fierce  and  bitter  feeling,  that  seems  to  set  them  in 
the  wildest  hostility  to  the  friends  who  are 
responsible  for  this  state  of  things  ; and  in  the 
Land  of  Shadows  they  plan  how  they  shall  be 
revenged  upon  those  who  have  shown  so  little  feel- 
ing for  them  as  to  bury  them  in  such  a position.” 
Any  proximity  of  large  trees  is  considered  to  be 
specially  obnoxious  to  the  occupants  of  graves. 
It  seems  that  the  waving  of  the  branches  during  a 
storm,  and  the  sighing  of  winds  through  them, 
produce  such  doleful  sensations  that  the  spirits 
are  apt  to  get  irritated,  and  by  and  by  “ vent  their 
wrath  by  hurling  calamities  on  the  living.” 

Thus  the  dead  to-day  all  over  China  hold  the 
living  within  their  grip.  They  are  believed  in  some 
mysterious  way  to  have  the  ability  to  change  the 
destinies  of  a family.  They  can  raise  it  from 
poverty  and  meanness  to  wealth  and  the  most 
exalted  position  ; but  if  they  are  neglected,  and 
offerings  not  made  to  them  at  the  regular  seasons, 
they  will  take  away  houses  and  lands  from  it,  and 
turn  the  members  of  it  into  beggars. 

The  worship  at  the  tombs  takes  place  twice  a 

28 


Worship  at  the  Tombs 

year,  in  spring  and  autumn,  but  spring  is  the 
time  par  excellence  consecrated  to  the  purpose. 
The  family  reunion  round  the  graves  to  worship 
takes  somewhat  the  place  of  our  summer  outings. 
From  far  and  near  they  gather.  Boats  and  chairs, 
or  their  own  legs,  carry  the  family  party  to  the 
unenclosed  hill,  where,  amidst  possibly  myriads 
of  other  graves,  and  surrounded  by  numerous 
groups  of  other  worshippers,  they  spread  out  the 
meats  and  vegetables  and  cakes  in  bowls  and 
dishes  ; light  the  candles  and  incense-sticks  ; put 
fresh  turf  on  the  little  hillock  ; or  clean  up  the 
horseshoe-shaped  grave.  These  outings  are  a 
combination  of  business  with  pleasure,  and,  the 
serious  business  over,  an  agreeable  little  picnic 
follows. 

That  the  souls  of  the  departed  are  in  the  direst 
straits,  unless  attended  to,  is  the  firm  belief  of  the 
Chinese.  On  the  Chinese  “ All  Souls’  Day  ” pro- 
visions in  tempting  array  are  laid  out  for  them  to 
consume,  while  all  sorts  of  articles  are  forwarded 
to  them  in  the  other  world,  being  sublimated  by  the 
mysterious  influence  of  the  element  of  fire.  In 
plain  language,  what  in  our  lands  would  be  called 
dolls’  houses,  made  of  bamboo  and  paper,  boats, 
sedan-chairs,  furniture,  all  constructed  of  such 
flimsy  materials  and  only  made  to  be  thus  burned, 
are  sent  by  the  fire  and  their  ashes  into  ghost-land. 
Even  paper  men  and  women  are  also  despatched, 
to  make  the  establishment  complete,  and,  that  all 
necessaries  may  be  procured,  paper  to  represent 

29 


The  Life  of  a Dead  Chinaman 


money  is  also  forwarded  by  the  same  potent  means. 
From  all  this  it  will  be  seen  that  in  the  Chinese 
mind  the  future  life  is  merely  a projection  of  this 
existence  on  to  another  plane  of  life.  In  the  nether 
regions  a replica  of  this  world  appears  as  far 
as  life,  occupation,  and  motives  are  concerned,  the 
only  difference  being  apparently  that  it  is  a land 
of  shades  and  darkness. 

The  courts  of  the  Kings  of  the  Ghosts  are  a 
reproduction  of  those  of  Chinese  mandarins,  the 
attendants,  like  their  prototypes  on  earth,  are  fierce 
and  cruel,  but  fiercer  and  more  cruel  than  earthly 
ones,  as  the  punishments  in  the  majority  of  cases 
are  conceived  in  the  spirit  of  tyrants.  It  is 
supposed  by  some  that  the  normal  period  for  life 
in  this  purgatory  is  sixteen  years,  by  which  time 
it  is  apparently  thought  that,  purged  of  their 
iniquities,  those  who  have  passed  through  it  are 
ready  for  another  period  of  existence  on  earth. 
Then,  if  their  misdeeds  in  a former  life  deserve 
it,  their  punishment  is  still  continued,  by  their 
having  to  descend  lower  in  the  scale  of  existence. 
Thus  a man  may  be  born  as  an  ox,  or  begin 
life  anew  as  a woman.  The  worst  become  worms, 
insects,  and  reptiles.  The  good,  on  the  contrary, 
ascend  in  the  scale,  being  born  into  a higher  station 
in  life  ; or  they  may  ascend  even  to  the  skies 
as  demi-gods. 

This  belief  in  the  transmigration  of  souls  is  one 
reason  for  the  abstention  from  flesh  by  many  in 
the  Celestial  Empire.  No  one  knows  how  many 

30 


Man  and  the  Unknown 


lives  a dead  Chinaman  is  supposed  to  live  again. 
The  nine  lives  of  a cat  pale  into  utter  insignificance 
beside  the  possibilities  which  open  out  before  him. 
But  the  worst  of  it  is,  he,  as  a rule,  has  no 
remembrance  of  the  past,  though  Buddha  recounted 
his  experiences  in  the  different  bodies  he  passed 
through  (between  five  and  six  hundred  altogether). 

The  Chinese  have  made  many  attempts  to  lift 
the  dark  curtain  that  hides  the  future  from  mortal 
ken.  The  “ theories  are  oftentimes  vague  and 
contradictory,  and  when  they  are  put  to  the  touch 
of  logic  they  fail  utterly  before  its  tests.  They 
are  as  brave  an  effort,  however,  as  has  ever  been 
made  by  any  heathen  people  to  construct  a system 
that  shall  try  and  satisfy  the  cravings  of  the  human 
heart  about  the  unknown.  They  are  profoundly 
human,  and  an  exalted  vein  of  righteousness  runs 
throughout  them.  There  is  no  paltering  with  evil, 
and  no  elevation  of  vice  or  impurity,  and  even 
their  ideal  ruler  of  the  Land  of  Shadows,  stern 
and  severe  as  he  is  represented  to  be,  can  always 
unbend  before  the  exhibition  of  goodness  in  any 
of  the  spirits  under  his  control.”  1 

1 Macgowan,  Sidelights  on  Chinese  Life,  p.  223. 


31 


CHAPTER  IV 

Wind  and  Water,  or  “Fung-Shui” 


F all  the  vagaries  which  the  human  mind 


has  evolved  from  its  inner  consciousness,  the 
palm  must  surely  be  given  to  the  mass  of  rules 
for  the  guidance  of  the  believer  in  fung-shui. 
About  400,000,000  of  our  fellow-men  are  believers 
in  it.  It  doubtless  had  its  origin  in  the  observation  of 
some  of  the  operations  of  Nature  by  an  ignorant  and 
unscientific  people,  who,  unable  to  assign  correct 
causes  for  effects,  have  let  their  fancy  lead  them 
astray.  A remembrance  of  the  prehistoric  monsters 
in  the  shape  of  a dragon  (a  green  dragon),  a tiger  1 
(a  white  tiger),  combined  with  the  five  elements, 
the  male  and  female  principles,  the  four  points 
of  the  compass,  the  ten  celestial  stems,  the  twelve 
horary  characters — all  these  and  other  elements 
are  united  together  as  a basis  for  the  wildest 
imaginings.  A favourable  situation  for  a grave, 
or  a house,  or  a piece  of  land,  are  matters  in  which 
fung-shui  is  important.  It  determines  also 
“ whether  in  repairing  a house,  in  building  at 


1 Tigers  are  still  found  in  many  parts  of  the  Empire. 
32 


A Troublesome  System 

cemeteries,  in  moving  an  old  grave,  or  opening 
a new  one,”  in  building  a wall,  “ or  in  doing  any- 
thing involving  the  displacement  of  earth,  any 
hindrance  exists  to  the  work  being  proceeded 
with.”  Some  persons  may  not  use  fung-shui  in 
all  these  matters  ; but  “ in  everything  connected 
with  graves  the  universal  custom  is  to  employ  ” it.1 

In  addition  to  this,  till  recently  the  opposition 
to  railways  was  founded  on  this  superstition.  For 
as  the  railway  lines  cut  through  graves,  they  must 
destroy  the  fung-shui.  The  telegraph  has  now 
spread  pretty  nearly  all  over  the  Empire  ; but 
it  was  at  first,  because  of  fung-shui,  received 
with  the  strongest  opposition  by  the  people. 
The  first  telegraph  line  constructed  in  China  was 
between  Hong  Kong  and  Canton.  The  thought 
of  that  mysterious  wire  passing  over  their  land 
aroused  among  the  people  all  the  superstitious 
dread  of  occult  influences.  The  highly  significant 
names  of  the  localities  served  by  this  line  only 
confirmed  them  in  their  fear  of  the  consequences. 
Canton  is  the  “ City  of  Rams  ” or  “ Sheep  ” ; 
the  mouth  of  the  Canton  River  is  known  as  “ The 
Tiger’s  Mouth  ” ; the  district  opposite  Hong  Kong 
is  that  of  “ The  Nine  Dragons.”  What  more 
disastrous  conditions  could  be  combined  than 
to  link  such  things  together — a line  to  lead  the 
Sheep  right  into  the  Tiger’s  Mouth,  or  in  the 
opposite  direction  amongst  Nine  Dragons? 

However,  the  Chinese  Government  were  resolved 
1 Thomson,  p.  211. 

33 


Wind  and  Water,  or  “Fung-Shui” 


that  this  and  other  lines  should  be  constructed, 
and  the  opposition  of  the  people  had  to  give  way. 
When,  as  sometimes  happened,  the  telegraph  poles 
were  uprooted  by  the  populace,  they  were  set  up 
again,  and  soldiers  protected  the  employees  of  the 
administration  of  telegraphs  and  their  works.  So, 
until  the  present  renaissance  of  China,  many 
foreign  innovations  which  came  athwart  the  Chinese 
line  of  progress  were  objected  to,  as,  though 
perchance  beneficial  to  the  foreigner,  they  would 
be  fraught  with  injury  to  the  Land  of  the  Dragon 
and  the  Tiger. 

Not  only  would  the  tiger  be  led  along  the 
ground,  as  with  the  telegraph  line  just  men- 
tioned ; but  in  the  case  of  railways  this  mythical 
tiger,  or  it  may  be  the  dragon,  lies  in  the  ground, 
and,  though  buried  in  the  earth,  yet  is  evidently 
alive,  and  deeply  resentful  of  any  injury  done  to 
it  by  a railway  cutting.  At  one  part  of  the  com- 
pass the  dragon  will  be  disturbed  ; at  another  the 
white  tiger.  Other  elements  also  come  into  play 
in  this  farrago  of  nonsense.  The  whole  thing  has 
been  worked  up  into  what  the  Chinese  consider 
an  exact  science,  with  its  professors,  whose 
occupation  in  life  is  to  find  out  suitable  sites  for 
graves  and  buildings,  and  to  be  consulted  when 
occasion  arises  on  which  their  advice  should  be 
sought.  Do  we  ourselves  discover  any  unsatis- 
factory influences  in  our  surroundings?  The  cause 
is  looked  for  in  soil,  dampness,  or  atmospheric 
conditions.  With  the  Chinese  this  pseudo-science 

34 


Professors  of  the  Art 


comes  into  action  with  a full  play  of  fancy  ; its 
empirical  laws  are  searched  ; and  the  conditions 
made  to  agree  with  what  the  books  have  laid 
down.  Of  course  the  evil  is  discovered  at  once 
by  the  sage  professor  of  the  science.  Do  away 
with  the  conditions  which  no  one  can  dispute,  and 
all  will  be  right,  or  bring  other  conditions  into 
play  which  will  counteract  the  adverse  ones,  and 
thus  good  will  be  evolved  out  of  evil. 

The  author  came  across  a case  in  point. 
Travelling  in  the  Canton  province,  he  and  a 
fellow-traveller  were  curious  to  know  the  reason 
for  a peculiarly  shaped  tower  standing  at  a corner 
of  the  city  wall  in  the  City  of  Fragrant  Hills. 
The  explanation,  at  first,  conveyed  no  meaning 
to  the  two  foreigners,  who  listened  to  it  from 
native  lips.  It  required  some  months,  or  years, 
of  soaking  into  the  foreign  brain  before  the  full 
meaning  was  apprehended.  Even  then  it  is  ques- 
tionable whether  its  full  purport  could  be  grasped, 
for  it  apparently  needs  a Chinese  mind  to  fully 
understand  such  things. 

It  appears  that  a stream  of  wealth  was  flowing 
out  of  the  city — the  city  being  a wealthy  one,  much 
of  it  having  accrued  from  the  honest  labour  of  the 
now  retired  merchants  who  had  amassed  it  abroad. 
The  wiseacres  who  had  made  fung-shui  their  study 
advised  the  erection  of  this  tower,  by  means  of 
which  the  hard-earned  savings  of  the  wealthy  might 
be  retained.  A poetical  imagination  is  thus,  it 
seems,  let  loose  amongst  superstitious  beliefs. 

35 


Wind  and  Water,  or  “Fung-Shui” 


Many  fantasies  of  the  Chinese  mind,  raised  in 
assigning  causes  for  malevolent  influences,  might 
— were  it  not  that  all  is  taken  in  sober  earnest — 
raise  a suspicion  that  the  enunciator  of  them,  like 
Bret  Harte’s  Ah  Sin,  had  a card  up  his  sleeve. 
It  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  astute  knaves  are 
enabled,  under  the  excuse  of  fung-shui,  to  earn 
an  income  from  the  credulous. 

This  gieomancy  is,  in  fact,  a weapon  ready  in 
the  hands  of  those  who  wish  to  injure  others,  or 
of  those  who,  with  a good  object  in  view,  have 
injured  others,  as  the  following  instance  will  show. 

The  primary  object  of  a pagoda  in  China  has 
been  to  preserve  the  relics  of  a Buddha  or  saint. 
The  Chinese  have,  however,  improved  on  this,  and 
firmly  believe  that  to  conserve  or  improve  the 
propitious  geomantic  influences  of  a place  it  is 
necessary  to  have  these  picturesque  objects — narrow 
and  polygonal  obelisks  many  stories  in  height, 
which  enhance  the  scenery  and  give  a distinctive 
feature  to  it. 

There  is  at  least  one  pagoda  in  China  which 
has  exerted  a malign  influence,  as  it  is  believed 
to  be  a great  hindrance  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
district  in  which  it  is  situated.  The  story  goes 
thus  : — 

“ Many  years  ago  there  was  a magistrate 
appointed  to  this  district  who  understood  geomancy. 
On  examining  a hill,  he  found  out  that,  unless  a 
pagoda  were  built  there,  there  would  arise  m Kwong- 
chi  (the  district  in  question)  some  men  who  would 

36 


A Pervasive  Difficulty 


be  endowed  with  such  extraordinary  abilities  that 
they  might  prove  dangerous  to  the  State.  So  he 
made  a representation  to  the  Throne,  with  the 
result  that  this  pagoda  was  built — and  now  Kwong- 
chi  cannot  produce  a single  man  of  note.” 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  such  influences 
“ may  be  friendly  to  one  person  and  hostile  to 
another.  Thus  one  Chinese  may  build  a house 
or  a place  of  business  upon  a particular  spot  of 
earth,  and  the  fung-shui  being  favourable  to  him, 
prosperity  will  come  to  him  and  his  ; but  if  another 
Chinese  should  construct  the  same  building,  for 
the  same  purpose,  upon  the  same  location,  he  would 
only  meet  with  disaster,  because  the  local  influences 
were  hostile  to  him.  His  children  would  die,  his 
business  be  ruined,  and  the  curse  of  evil  spirits 
would  involve  him  in  hopeless  destruction.  Upon 
the  other  hand,  if  this  second  Chinese  should 
construct  a different  style  of  building,  or  the  same 
building  for  another  purpose,  the  local  powers 
might  be  satisfied  not  to  annoy  him.”  1 

In  place  of  our  “ ancient  lights  ” in  England, 
this  topographical  superstition  may  provide  a 
cause  for  an  action  at  law.  In  China  a suit  might 
lie  and  damages  be  recovered  if  the  complainant 
could  show  the  judge  to  his  satisfaction  that  the 
defendant  had  affected  the  complainant  prejudici- 
ally by  damaging  the  fung-shui  of  his  house,  or 
ancestral  hall  or  place  of  business. 

The  author’s  father  wished,  while  residing  in 
1 Holcombe,  The  Real  Chinaman,  p.  146. 

37 


D 


Wind  and  Water,  or  “Fung-Shui” 


the  city  of  Canton,  to  have  a window  put  into  the 
side  of  his  house  which  gave  on  to  a square  in 
front  of  a temple.  But  the  master  of  the  premises 
used  as  a shop  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  square 
objected,  as  it  would  overlook  his  place.  All  that 
would  be  allowed  was  the  putting  in  of  one  or 
two  large  open-work  ornamental  tiles  near  the  roof, 
which  permitted  a small  quantity  of  air  to  circulate. 
The  matter  was  compromised  in  this  way  ; but, 
if  the  window  had  been  insisted  on,  grave  trouble 
would  have  arisen.  If  both  parties  had  been 
Chinese,  it  would  have  been  considered  as  a valid 
cause  for  action. 

Chinese  houses  have  no  chimneys,  as  they  have 
no  fireplaces,  a broad  opening  in  the  roof  pro- 
tected from  the  rain  serving  the  purpose  of  con- 
ducting the  smoke  from  the  kitchen.  It  conse- 
quently happens  that  in  Peking  “ the  Chinese  shun, 
as  much  as  possible,  living  next  door  to  a house 
occupied  by  a foreigner.”  For  the  roofs  of  such 
houses  “ are  dotted  with  chimneys,  built  simply 
with  a view  to  comfort  and  convenience,  with  a 
reckless  disregard  of  all  the  laws  of  fung-shui.” 

Some  years  ago  an  American  in  the  employ  of 
the  Chinese  Government  was  prevented  from 
putting  any  chimneys  to  his  house,  as  a high 
Chinese  official  who  lived  next  door  to  him  refused 
to  permit  him  to  have  them.  The  poor  American 
had  to  go  through  the  intense  cold  of  a Peking 
winter  without  a fire  in  his  house,  and  had  to  try 
to  warm  himself  with  charcoal  brasiers.  When 

38 


The  Things  that  Matter 

a high  chimney  was  put  up  for  the  gasworks  in 
the  same  city,  house  property  within  a mile  fell 
to  a half  of  its  former  value. 

Here  are  some  of  the  rules  which  guide  the 
professor  of  geomancy  in  his  decisions  with 
reference  to  houses  and  lands  : The  principal 

house  in  a mansion  must  be  lofty,  and  the  sub- 
sidiary buildings  (which  are  combined  with  several 
main  buildings,  at  least  to  form  a mansion)  shall 
be  low.  This  is  one  of  the  chief  principles.  Others 
of  importance  are  that  “ neither  exactly  opposite 
the  outside  site,  nor  on  either  side  ” of  the  house, 
“ shall  there  be  a temple  of  any  kind  ; that  the 
private  drains  be  arranged  according  to  geomantic 
principles  ; that  a certain  number  of  doors  follow 
each  other  in  succession,  never  exactly  in  line  ; 
and  that  the  windows  be  on  certain  sides  of  the 
houses.  The  differences  in  the  height  of  the 
ground  must  be  taken  into  consideration,  and 
the  neighbours’  roofs  must  be  examined,  lest  there 
be  anything  thereon  to  interfere  with  the  fung- 
shui  of  the  house  in  question.” 

“ In  the  case  of  land,  the  secret  influences  1 that 
come  and  go  ; the  height  and  evenness  of  ” the 
ground  ; “ on  which  side  the  hillocks  are  to  be 

raised,  the  low  parts  filled  in  ; in  what  direction 

1 “These  influences  must  be  very  secret,  one  would  think,  to 
the  geomancer  and  every  one  else  ; for  the  literal  translation  of 
the  terms  used  to  express  them  are,  * The  Coming  Dragon,’ 
‘ The  Departing  Pulse,’  ‘ The  Breath  of  the  Earth,’  and  * The 
Power  of  the  Earth  ’ ” (Thomson). 

39 


Wind  and  Water,  or  “Fung-Shui” 


the  water  is  to  flow  off  ; and  how  the  trees  are  to 
be  planted,  &c. — are  all  points  that  are  intimately 
connected  with  the  fung-shui  of  the  place.” 

In  one  thing  alone  fung-shui  appears  to  be  a 
benefit  to  the  Chinese,  and  that  is  in  the  matter 
of  trees  about  villages.  Most  villages  nestled  at 
the  foot  of  hills,  or  standing  solitary  on  the  plains, 
have  a grove  of  fine  trees  about  or  behind  them. 
This  is  due  to  the  geomantic  influences  which  the 
trees  are  supposed  to  exercise. 

There  has  often  been  great  objection  to  the 
steeples  or  spires  of  churches  ; and  in  nearly  all 
cases  the  missionaries  have  met  this  objection  by 
constructing  churches  and  chapels  without  them. 
In  many  instances  the  buildings  have,  if  not  a 
Chinese  shop  or  house  adapted  to  the  purpose, 
been  built  according  to  the  Chinese  mode.  There 
was  much  bad  feeling  with  regard  to  the  French 
Roman  Catholic  Cathedral  in  the  New  City  in 
Canton.  Besides  the  allegation  which  festered  in 
the  minds  of  the  people,  to  the  effect  that  the 
ground  on  which  it  stood  had  been  unjustly 
acquired  by  the  foreigner,  one  of  the  strongest 
objections  against  it  in  the  Chinese  mind  centred 
in  the  twin  spires  which  dominated  the  whole  city. 
A riot  took  place,  and  a permanent  guard  of 
native  soldiers  had  to  be  placed  at  the  cathedral 
gates. 

A wise  quidnunc,  after  some  years  of  exas- 
perated feeling  on  the  part  of  the  populace, 
enunciated  the  consoling  statement  that,  instead 

40 


Geomancy  and  the  Grave 

of  this  high  stone  building  dominating  the  whole 
city  for  evil,  it  was  most  lucky  in  its  geomantic 
properties.  For  what  could  be  better  or  more 
fitting  than  a pair  of  horns  (such  as  the  two  spires 
doubtless  were)  for  the  City  of  Rams,  as  Canton 
is  called  1 

After  all,  the  stronghold  of  this  curious  medley 
of  superstition  is  in  the  grave,  in  which  also 
ancestral  worship  centres.  More  than  amongst 
any  other  people  the  grave  is  the  centre  of  life 
amongst  the  Chinese.  To  us  it  would  seem  not 
possible  that  the  condition  or  situation  of  a grave 
should  affect  the  prosperity  of  a family  ; the  con- 
verse might  be  the  case.  But  the  former  is  what 
the  Chinese  believes,  and  the  sums  of  money  spent 
annually  and  throughout  the  Empire  in  attempts  to 
select  some  auspicious  site  for  a father’s  resting- 
place  must  be  something  enormous. 

How  far-reaching  are  some  of  the  malign  in- 
fluences of  fung-shui  may  be  judged  by  the  fact 
that,  some  years  since,  a number  of  high  Chinese 
officials  united  in  a petition  to  the  Throne,  asking 
that  a stop  be  put  to  mining  coal  and  iron  at  a 
point  forty  miles  distant  from  the  Imperial  Tombs, 
upon  the  plea  that  this  mining  would  disturb  the 
bones  of  the  Empress,  who  had  recently  been 
buried. 

The  late  Emperor  Tung  Chi  was  not  buried  for 
some  nine  months  after  his  death,  as  no  place 
was  discovered  in  which  his  remains  could  be  laid 
without  disturbing  the  fung-shui.  Two  Imperial 

4i 


Wind  and  Water,  or  “Fung-Shui” 


cemeteries  exist,  each  about  one  hundred  miles 
distant  from  Peking— one  to  the  east  and  one  to 
the  west,  so  as  to  prevent  any  untoward  circum- 
stance arising  ; and  the  sovereigns  alternate  in 
their  occupancy  of  their  final  resting-place. 

By  rights  Tung  Chi  should  have  been  buried 
in  the  Western  Cemetery,  as  his  turn  was  to  be 
laid  there  to  rest,  his  father  having  gone  to  the 
Eastern  Cemetery.  “ But  the  court  astrologers 
declared,  as  a result  of  their  divinations,  that  no 
place  could  be  found  there  where  he  might  lie 
without  injury  to  the  State,  and  hence  that  he 
must  be  buried  elsewhere.  Months  of  investiga- 
tion, repeated  references  to  different  boards  and 
departments  of  the  public  service,  and  numerous 
commands  from  the  new  Emperor  followed,  until, 
after  nine  months  of  effort,  it  was  finally  decided 
that  he  positively  could  not  be  interred  in  the 
Western  Cemetery,  where  he  belonged,  but,  with 
certain  precautionary  and  conciliatory  measures, 
he  might  be  put  underground  in  the  Eastern. 
This  was  done,  as  the  lesser  of  two  evils. 

“ The  whole  Empire  had  been  stirred  over  the 
question.  It  had  been  debated  at  numerous 
Councils  of  State,  and  a large  sum  of  money,  esti- 
mated at  ” about  £50,000,  had  been  expended,  all 
to  determine  at  what  spot  the  coffin  of  the  deceased 
Emperor  should  rest  (Holcombe,  p.  1 50). 

Many  a coffin  remains  above-ground  in  China 
for  months,  or  even  years.  Lack  of  time  for 
the  elaborate  funeral  exercises,  or  of  funds  to 

42 


The  Grip  of  the  System 

meet  the  extravagant  expenses  dictated  by  custom, 
is  in  some  instances  the  cause  of  the  delay  ; but 
in  a vast  majority  of  cases  it  is  caused  by  trouble 
about  the  fung-shui.  For  the  most  part  “ the 
trouble  is  easily  adjusted,  and  by  some  absurdly 
trivial  and  inconsequential  act,  such  as  the  plant- 
ing of  a tree  at  a particular  spot  in  the  cemetery, 
or  perhaps  the  removal  of  a shrub  or  a stone.” 

A certain  chapel  in  Canton  had  a portico  with 
a row  of  pillars.  The  people  in  the  neighbour- 
hood had  assisted  in  subscribing  for  a public  clock 
placed  over  it  (one  of  the  only  two  in  the  whole 
large  city).  So  there  was  no  question  of  any 
objection  to  the  chapel,  or  they  would  not  have 
thus  given  a quasi-sanction  to  it  ; and  it  had 
thus  stood  for  years.  The  author,  on  inquiring 
why  the  columns  had  disappeared  some  years  since, 
was  informed  that  the  Chinese  thought  they  were 
bad  fung-shui ; so  they  had  been  taken  down. 

As  “ this  fung-shui  delusion  holds  the  entire 
Chinese  nation  in  subjection,  the  professors  of  the 
art  of  divination  are,  as  a class,  as  sincerely  its 
victims  as  are  those  who  employ  them  to  solve 
its  tangled  mysteries  in  their  own  affairs.  To 
refer  again  to  the  burial  of  Tung  Chi,  a large 
number  of  the  ablest  officials  of  the  Empire  made 
no  effort  to  conceal  their  anxiety  as  to  the  effect 
of  his  being  placed  in  the  Eastern  Cemetery. 
And  when  in  subsequent  years  famine,  flood,  and 
other  disasters  came  upon  the  nation,  some  of 
these  were  bold  enough  to  point  out  in  written 

43 


Wind  and  Water,  or  “Fung-Shui” 


memorials  to  the  Throne  that  these  calamities 
came  as  a result  of  violated  jung-shui,  as  punish- 
ments for  the  interment  of  the  late  Emperor  in 
a spot  where  he  did  not  properly  belong. 

“ The  effect  of  such  a system  upon  the  lives  of 
those  who  accept  it  can  hardly  be  realised.  That 
it  must  interfere  with  business,  check  enterprise, 
and  hamper  that  individual  freedom  of  action 
which  is  essential  to  healthy  development — all  this 
is  evident.  But  it  goes  far  beyond  this.  It 
makes  men  by  turns  crazy  fanatics  and  senseless 
cowards.  And  no  cowardice  is  so  damaging  and 
hopeless  as  that  which  fears  intangible,  unseen 
dangers — dangers  which  a man  cannot  struggle 
against,  and  from  which  he  cannot  run. 

“ It  can  easily  be  imagined  that  such  a system, 
with  its  innumerable  ramifications  and  varieties 
of  applications,  might  absolutely  block  the  wheels 
of  organised  social  and  business  life,  and  bring 
all  things  to  a standstill.  Perhaps  it  would,  were 
not  the  Chinese  remarkable  for  their  capacity  of 
adjustment,  and  for  the  patience  and  success  with 
which  they  manage  to  evade  difficulties  and  to 
compromise  where  they  cannot  readily  conquer. 

“ Were  they  less  phlegmatic,  good-natured,  and 
practical,  the  existence  of  this  universal  super- 
stition must  long  since  have  driven  the  entire  race 
into  lunacy.”  1 

’ Holcombe,  pp.  152-4. 


44 


CHAPTER  V 


The  Much-married  Chinaman 

"^HE  average  Westerner  doubtless  thinks  that 


John  Chinaman  is  very  much  married  ; and 
so  he  is,  if  only  those  who  have  a multiplicity 
of  wives  are  taken  into  account.  But  there  are 
many  who  afe  content,  or  have  to  be  content, 
with  monogamy.  Circumstances  over  which  he 
has  no  control  often  force,  according  to  his  ideas, 
the  Chinaman  into  polygamy.1  There  is,  or  should 
be,  only  one  queen  in  the  house — whether  it  be 
hovel  or  palace — which  stands  for  the  word  home. 
But  the  assessor  or  assessors — who,  according  to 
the  Oriental  idea,  ought  by  rights  to  serve  the 
queen,  be  obedient  to  her,  and  live  in  harmony 
with  her — at  times  usurp  her  province.  Then  civil 
war  or  domestic  strife — a thirty  years’  war  some- 
times, if  not  worse — ensues.  The  king  who  finds 
the  strife  of  tongues  too  much  for  him,  and  is 
unable  to  rule  his  unruly  queens,  is  perforce  at 
times  obliged  to  separate  the  warring  elements, 
and  locate  them  in  separate  homes  ; though  all 


1 See  Chapter  III.  pp.  26,  27. 

45 


The  Much-married  Chinaman 


his  efforts  will  not  stop  the  continual  dropping 
of  hints,  inuendoes,  blame,  and  abuse  by  angry 
and  contentious  women. 

A multiplicity  of  wives  is  a luxury — and  an 
expensive  one  at  that — even  for  the  rich  ; but  an 
exception  may  be  made  in  the  case  of  the  com- 
paratively poor  man,  if  the  partners  be  taken  in 
moderation.  For  in  such  a case  two  female 
members  of  the  household  may,  with  sewing  and 
embroidery  and  shoemaking,  double  the  income 
of  the  home. 

It  is  considered  far  better  for  a woman  to 
occupy  the  position  of  a wife  than  that  of  a con- 
cubine, and  people  of  means  or  of  great  respect- 
ability as  a rule  see  to  their  daughters  taking 
the  supreme  position  in  a household. 

“ It  is  difficult  even  to  guess  at  the  extent  of 
polygamy,  for  no  statistics  have  been  or  can  be 
easily  taken.  Among  the  labouring  classes  it  is 
rare  to  find  more  than  one  woman  to  one  man  ; 
but  tradesmen,  official  persons,  landholders,  and 
those  in  easy  circumstances,  frequently  take  one 
or  more  concubines — perhaps  two-fifths  of  such 
persons  have  them.  Show  and  fashion  lead  some 
to  increase  the  number  of  their  women,  though 
aware  of  the  discord  likely  to  arise,  for  they  fully 
believe  their  own  proverb,  that  ‘ Nine  women  out 
of  ten  are  jealous.’ 

“ Yet  it  is  probably  true  that  polygamy  finds  its 
greatest  support  from  the  women  themselves.  The 
wife  seeks  to  increase  her  own  position,  by  getting 

46 


1AMILV  GROl'P  OI?  THREE  GENERATIONS, 


Polygamy  in  Practice 

more  women  into  the  house  to  relieve  her  ” in  her 
“ own  work  and  humour  her  fancies.  The  Chinese 
illustrate  the  relation  by  comparing  the  wife  to  the 
moon  and  the  concubines  to  the  stars,  both  of 
which  in  their  appropriate  spheres  wait  upon  and 
revolve  around  the  sun.  It  is  not  infrequent  for 
a man  to  secure  a maidservant  ” for  “ the  family, 
with  the  consent  of  his  wife,  by  purchasing  her 
for  a concubine,  especially  if  his  occupation 
frequently  call  him  away  from  home.”  1 In  this 
case  he  often  takes  her  as  his  travelling  companion, 
leaving  his  wife  in  charge  of  the  household. 

And  yet  the  best  feelings  of  the  nation  are  at 
heart  evidently  against  the  practice.  A sentence 
from  the  Great  Learning,  one  of  the  Confucian 
classics,  is  constantly  in  use  by  women.  It  is 
to  this  effect  : “ Their  persons  being  cultivated, 
their  families  were  regulated.”  When  a wife 
quarrels  with  a concubine,  and  a husband  remon- 
strates, this  will  be  flung  into  his  teeth,  as  much 
as  to  say,  “ You  have,  by  bringing  in  a concubine, 
failed  to  regulate  your  conduct  and  person.” 

A progressive  Chinese  of  intelligent  views  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  to  the  author  that  polygamy 
was  largely  responsible  for  the  bribery  and  corrup- 
tion of  official  life,  and  while  it  existed  such 
practices  would  not,  or  could  not,  be  given  up. 
His  belief — and  it  is  widely  shared — was  that  the 
expenses  of  a harem,  with  all  the  incidentals  of 
servants  and  an  indefinite  number  of  children,  was 
1 Williams,  The  Middle  Kingdom,  i.  pp.  791-2. 

47 


The  Much-married  Chinaman 


one  of  the  main  reasons  for  the  urgent  need  of 
a much  larger  income  than  legitimate  official 
sources  could  be  expected  to  grant  or  afford  to 
those  filling  high  posts  under  the  Government. 

Thousands  of  years  ago,  one  of  the  most 
renowned  men  in  China  married  the  two 
daughters  of  one  man  as  equal  wives.  This 

solitary  case  has  served  as  a plea  with  many  a 
woman.  It  is  pitiable  to  see  how  so-called  wives 
try  to  use  it,  endeavouring  thereby  to  show  that 
they  actually  fill  the  position  they  would  hold  if 
they  could.  The  author  in  his  official  life  saw 
not  a few  cases  in  which  a secondary  wife,  or 
concubine,  has  said  that  she  was  the  equal  wife 
of  the  man  who  has  another  legal  first  wife.  She 
has  got  the  so-called  husband  to  promise  that 
she  shall  be  his  equal  wife.  But  no  plea  of  that 
kind  is  of  any  avail,  as  there  is  but  one  legal 
first  wife  in  China,  and  no  one,  while  she  is  alive, 
can  be  her  equal.  The  others  are  called  wives 
by  courtesy  only,  and  their  position  is  a lower 
one  than  that  of  the  legal  principal  wife.  “If 
names  be  not  correct,  language  is  not  in  accord- 
ance with  the  truth  of  things,”  1 is  another  quota- 
tion from  the  classics,  which  the  Chinese  use  when 
in  such  a case  a man  calls  his  concubine  his 
wife. 

The  sayings  of  a people  often  give  a clue  to 
their  feelings.  The  following  sentence  1 from  the 

1 These  quotations  are  taken  from  the  author’s  work  The  Pith 
of  the  Classics  : The  Chinese  Classics  in  Everyday  Life. 

48 


A Popular  Excuse 


classics — “ There  are  three  things  which  are  un- 
filial,  and  to  have  no  posterity  is  the  greatest  of 
them  ” — is  used  as  the  reason  for  taking  a wife, 
and  especially  for  taking  a concubine,  when  a man 
is  without  offspring.  How  deep-rooted  this  feeling 
is  in  the  mind  of  the  Chinese  may  be  gathered 
by  the  fact  that  this  quotation  is  in  constant  use 
amongst  the  people. 

As  the  poor  occupy  but  little  space,  a second 
wife  does  not  take  up  much  room  ; but  with  the 
rich  considerable  provision  must  be  made  for  their 
accommodation.  The  author,  when  a boy  and 
allowed  by  Chinese  custom  to  visit  the  Ladies  with 
his  sisters,  was  once  taken  over  a mansion  of 
one  of  the  wealthy  inhabitants  of  a city.  This 
gentleman  had  six  ladies  dependent  on  his  bounty, 
who  looked  up  to  him  as  their  lord  and  master. 
They  were  housed  in  different  apartments  of  what 
might  be  described  as  a gallery  round  the  central 
square  court  of  his  house. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  quarrels  in  the  house- 
hold when  a man  brings  another  wife  in  to  vex 
the  inmate  or  inmates  of  his  dwelling.  But  the 
Chinese  customs  so  familiarise  women  as  well  as 
men  with  the  courtesy  title  of  wife  applied  at  the 
same  time  to  several  women  by  one  man,  that 
what  would  be  considered  as  an  insult  in  our 
Western  lands  is  looked  on  as  a natural  conse- 
quence of  unproductiveness  on  the  part  of  the 
wife,  or  of  wealth,  which  allows  the  numerical  pro- 
portions of  the  family  to  be  expanded. 

49 


The  Much-married  Chinaman 


Though  the  natural  feelings  at  the  bottom  of 
a woman’s  heart  are  against  sharing  a husband 
with  others,  yet,  so  imperative  are  the  demands 
of  custom  and  religion  for  a male  heir,  that  she 
is  pleased  in  many  cases  to  stifle  her  heaven- 
born  instincts  and  be  content.  In  some  cases  even, 
a wife  urges  on  her  husband  to  satisfy  the  clamant 
need  of  a family,  by  procuring  what  may  prove 
to  be  a rival  to  her  in  his  affections — presuming 
that  the  affections  have  been  called  into  play  by 
their  marriage  and  are  not  lying  dormant  for  some 
beauty  to  claim  them.  It  must  be  remembered 
in  this  connection  that  the  wife’s  ancestral  tablet 
is  set  up  by  the  side  of  her  husband’s  on  her 
death,  and,  if  a son  is  needed  to  pay  the  proper 
pious  rites  to  his  late  father,  a son’s  services  are 
also  required  for  her. 

As  far  as  the  parties  themselves  are  concerned, 
the  marriage  of  a legal  first  wife  and  her  husband 
might  almost  be  described  as  automatic.  The 
machinery  is  set  in  motion  by  the  parents,  the 
parties  themselves  having  nothing  to  do  with  it. 
What  necessity  is  there  for  them  to  see  each  other? 
They  seldom  do,  unless  it  be  in  the  country,  where 
it  would  be  well-nigh  impossible  for  the  boys  and 
girls,  even  with  the  seclusion  of  the  latter  in 
Chinese  life,  not  to  have  passed  before  each  other’s 
eyes.  It  is  possible  for  the  young  man,  in  some 
cases  at  all  events,  to  manage  to  get  a glance 
at  his  future  wife,  but  that  is  all,  and  in  many 
cases  not  even  a glimpse  is  seen  by  the  future 
husband  of  her  who  is  to  be  his  wife. 

5° 


BRIDAL  PROCESSION. 


Domestic  Tragedies 

The  go-between  arranges  everything  with  the 
parents  on  both  sides.  There  is  much  going  back 
and  forward  ; the  fortune-teller  decides  whether 
the  horoscopes  of  the  couple  agree  ; presents  are 
sent  or  exchanged  ; and  at  last  a grand  series  of 
ceremonies  lasting  three  days  takes  place,  an  in- 
dispensable worship  of  ancestors  being  one  of  the 
most  important. 

What  must  the  feelings  of  the  pair  be  when 
the  red  cloth  is  lifted  from  the  bride’s  face  as 
she  steps  out  of  the  red  bridal  sedan-chair  (in 
which  a woman  only  rides  once  in  her  life),  and 
the  two  persons,  who  have  not  been  consulted  in  the 
affair,  face  each  other,  probably  for  the  first  time? 
Bound  together  for  life  they  are,  whether  plain 
or  beautiful,  diseased  or  sound,  intelligent  or  with 
only  a small  modicum  of  brains.  Imbecility,  even, 
seems  at  times  to  be  no  bar  to  marriage.  Raptures 
at  the  sight  of  a beauty  greater  than  could  possibly 
have  been  hoped  for  would  not,  one  would  think, 
satisfy  a husband  as  to  the  qualities  of  mind  or 
temper  unknown  and  untried  in  the  past. 

That  tragedies  arise  from  such  a course  of  action 
is  natural  and  inevitable.  A case  of  which  the 
author  heard  many  years  ago  may  show  the 
occasional  result  of  bringing  the  two  together, 
without  any  preliminary  introduction  and  inter- 
course. 

After  all  the  noise  and  excitement  of  the  crowd 
were  over,  the  bridegroom  saw,  to  his  horror  (if 
he  had  not  noticed  it  before  on  the  arrival  of  the 

5i 


The  Much-married  Chinaman 


bride,  when  the  conventionalities  prevented  any 
action),  what  an  ugly  creature  his  newly  espoused 
wife  was.  His  whole  soul  revolted  at  the  union 
with  such  a hideous  object.  Spuming  her  with 
cruel  words,  he  retired  to  rest  alone,  and  left  her 
to  cry  out  her  misery  in  the  comer  of  the  room 
all  night. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a fact  that  a veritable 
affection  does  grow  up  in  not  a few  cases  between 
couples  thus  brought  together,  and  so  a situation 
fraught  with  every  possibility  of  evil  is  rendered 
harmless.  If  the  first  wife  dies,  another  can  be 
married  to  “ take  the  room  ” of  the  deceased, 
“ to  carry  on  the  house,”  as  it  is  termed,  and  this 
so  shortly  after  the  death  of  the  fomier  as  would 
be  considered  scandalous  in  our  Western  world. 
A woman  takes  so  inferior  a place  in  the  economy 
of  the  East  that  a husband  is  not  required  either 
to  attend  the  funeral  of  a wife  or  to  express  grief 
for  her  demise  by  wearing  mourning — and  this 
in  a land  where  the  utmost  punctiliousness  is 
observed  in  all  such  matters. 

All  the  children  born  under  this  expansive 
system  of  wedlock  are  technically  the  children 
of  the  first  wife,  and  call  her  the  “ big  mother." 
These  children  are  all  legitimate,  and  appear  to 
be  equals,  though  their  mothers  are  not,  or  may 
not  be,  theoretically  speaking.  Practically,  there 
is  often  not  much  difference  in  everyday  life  in 
the  positions  of  the  women  who  own  one  man 
as  their  husband. 


52 


The  Mother-in-Law 


The  chief  wife  is  the  head  of  the  wpmenfolk, 
if  there  is  no  mother-in-law  alive.  If  there  be, 
then  the  mother-in-law  rules,  and  often  with  a 
rod  of  iron.  A cruel,  tyrannical,  and  hard- 
hearted woman  can  make  the  life  of  daughters- 
in-law  and  subsidiary  wives  and  slave-girls  a 
perfect  misery,  and  the  poor  little  wife  has  a hard 
struggle  indeed.  For  the  wife  is  supposed  to 
bear  everything  in  patience  and  submission,  and 
to  wait  hand  and  foot  on  the  mother-in-law.  In 
the  West  the  mother-in-law  is  often  a much- 
maligned  person  and  the  butt  of  many  a joke. 
In  China  the  mother-in-law  is  held  up  to  the 
highest  respect  and  almost  worship. 

The  feelings  of  this  august  personage  towards 
the  daughter-in-law  may  be  judged,  as  well  as  the 
feelings  of  her  poor  inferior  towards  her,  from 
the  following  advice  by  a Chinese  : “ There  is 

no  such  thing  as  a mother  not  loving  her  daughter  ; 
nor  is  there  such  a thing  as  a mother-in-law  not 
hating  her  daughter-in-law.  Would  that  the 
mothers-in-law  in  this  world  would  expend  thirty 
per  cent,  of  the  love  for  their  daughters  on  their 
daughters-in-law.”  The  mother-in-law  is  the  head 
of  the  family,  at  least  as  far  as  the  domestic 
arrangements  are  concerned,  so  the  daughter-in- 
law  is  virtually  in  most  cases  a slave  to  the 
mother-in-law,  and  her  servitude  is  a long  and 
bitter  one,  unless  the  mother-in-law  is  kind-hearted 
in  disposition. 

Though  reference  has  already  been  made  to  the 

53  e 


The  Much-married  Chinaman 


domestic  difficulties  due  to  this  semi -legalised 
system  of  concubinage,  it  is  the  fact  that  cases 
do  occur  where  the  utmost  harmony  appears  to 
prevail,  where  one  would  suppose  such  a course 
incompatible  with  human  nature.  A curious 
instance  came  under  the  author’s  notice,  where 
two  cousins,  married  to  one  man,  were  as 
harmonious  and  happy  together,  to  all  outward 
appearances,  as  sisters. 

The  exhibition  of  affection  on  the  part  of  man 
or  woman  to  the  opposite  sex  is  frowned  on  ;by 
Chinese  custom  and  prudery.  The  outward  signs 
of  it  between  husband  and  wife  are  wanting. 
Kissing  is  most  indelicate,  except  between  elders 
and  little  children,  and  then  it  takes  the  shape 
of  smelling  the  cheeks.  Nevertheless,  from 
inquiries  the  author  has  made,  he  has  ascertained 
that  even  husbands  and  wives,  where  there  is  love 
between  them,  know  how  to  kiss  each  other,  when 
none  can  see,  or  suspect  them  guilty  of  such 
conduct. 

There  must  be  many  a loveless  marriage  in 
China  ; and  the  laxity  of  the  marriage  bond  (as 
regards  the  man  alone)  and  its  wide  circumference 
as  regards  more  than  one  woman  to  one  man, 
give  free  play  to  the  husband.  If  he  does  not 
find  a sweetheart  at  home,  he  seeks  and  finds  one 
abroad,  whom  he  may  bring  into  his  house  as  a 
secondary  wife. 

The  taking  of  a concubine  is  a much  less  serious 
business  than  the  marrying  of  a wife.  It  is 

54 


A MILITARY  MANDARIN'. 


Costly  Weddings 

necessary,  as  a general  rule,  to  have  the  inter- 
vention of  a go-between,  to  make  it  a perfectly 
proper  affair,  and  lift  it  on  to  a higher  plane  than 
the  mere  taking  of  a mistress  ; but  the  presents 
and  the  whole  arrangements  differ  in  various  parts 
of  the  country,  and  are  reduced  to  the  most  ele- 
mentary proportions  at  times. 

The  Chinese  almost  beggar  themselves  on 
marriages,  and  spend  lavishly  on  such  occasions, 
borrowing,  if  they  have  not  got  the  money  on 
hand  ; and  in  a country  where  a high  rate  of 
interest  is  required,  crippling  themselves  for  years, 
if  not  for  life,  by  their  extravagant  expenditure. 

As  a concrete  illustration  of  this,  there  may  be 
instanced  the  case  of  a Chinese  in  Singapore  who 
became  a bankrupt,  mainly  owing  to  the  marriage 
of  his  three  sisters,  each  of  which  cost  him  some 
£40.  He  himself  drew  a salary  of  nearly  £7  a 
month,  out  of  which  his  ordinary  expenditure 
amounted  to  some  £5  odd,  leaving  him  after  this 
only  about  £14  a year.  On  a salary  like  this,  of 
course,  it  was  impossible  to  meet  such  heavy 
expenses.  In  a country  like  China  though,  where 
there  is  no  bankruptcy  court  as  such,  this  load 
of  debt  would  have  hampered  such  a foolish  man 
for  life,  increasing  as  the  years  went  on,  probably 
on  what  would  be  considered  as  a moderate  interest 
of  36  per  cent,  per  annum. 

Divorce  is  allowed  in  China  for  seven  reasons  : 
Barrenness  (though  in  this  case  the  difficulty  may 
be  obviated  by  the  taking  of  a secondary  wife), 

55 


The  Much-married  Chinaman 


lasciviousness,  jealousy,  talkativeness,  thieving, 
disobedience  towards  her  husband’s  parents,  and 
leprosy.  But  the  author  scarcely  remembers 
coming  across  a case  of  divorce  during  his  long 
residence  in  China  ; and  the  requirements  in  the 
resort  to  it  are  sufficient  to  prevent  its  being  often 
carried  out  in  real  life,  as  far  as  regards  a first 
wife. 

To  begin  with,  her  parents  must  be  alive  to 
receive  the  discarded  wife.  Moreover,  there  is 
a high  standard  of  morality  amongst  respectable 
and  well-to-do  families  in  China  ; so  that  the 
second  reason  is  not  likely  to  occur.  As  to 
jealousy,  the  author  has  seen  a great  deal  of  it 
in  China.  As  regards  this  and  talkativeness,  the 
Chinese  husband  apparently  thinks  that  “ what 
cannot  be  cured  must  be  endured.”  Thieving  is 
not  worthy  of  attention  as  a reason  amongst 
respectable  people.  As  to  her  husband’s  parents, 
a wife  is  married  as  much,  if  not  sometimes  more, 
to  be  a daughter-in-law  as  to  be  a wife  ; and,  with 
the  ingrained  respect  the  Chinese  have  for  the 
aged,  transgression  is  not  likely  to  be  more  than 
venial,  except  in  a few  cases.  The  last  reason, 
leprosy,  is  a more  serious  matter.  But  the  go- 
between  is  supposed  to  see  that  the  bride-elect 
is  healthy  and  well,  and,  though  there  are  many 
lepers  in  China,  the  percentage  to  the  population 
cannot  be  very  great,  so  the  contingency  of  its 
occurring  is  small.  With  concubines  the  matter 
is  very  different  ; and,  'if  she  have  no  relations  to 

56 


Child  Labour 


make  it  unpleasant  to  her  so-called  husband,  she 
has  no  redress.  Divorce  in  China,  if  acted  on,  is 
quite  one-sided  ; no  wife  could  think  of  divorcing 
her  husband — the  king  does  no  wrong,  can  do  no 
wrong. 

There  is  many  a capable  woman  in  China,  and 
when  such  a one  is  married  to  an  incompetent  man, 
or  a confirmed  gambler,  or  an  opium  sot,  she  is 
compelled,  if  in  poor  circumstances,  to  be  the 
bread-winner  of  the  family.  Amongst  the  poor 
both  husband  and  wife  support  the  family  by  their 
labours,  and  the  children  add  their  mites  as  soon 
as  able,  beginning  by  scouring  the  streets  and 
water’s  edge  for  every  scrap  of  wood  or  shaving, 
to  keep  the  pot  boiling  at  home.  They  soon  learn 
to  mind  a street  stall,  or  to  do  any  other  thing  to 
help.  The  baby  is  strapped  on  their  backs  when 
they  are  little  more  than  infants  themselves,  and 
thus  baby  is  out  in  the  open  air  nearly  all  day 
long,  and  kept  out  of  mischief’s  way,  while  the 
little  brother  or  sister  is  picking  up  chips  or  doing 
some  other  light  toil  to  add  to  the  means  of  the 
house . 

Marriage  by  proxy  is  in  vogue  in  China.  If 
circumstances  should  make  it  impossible  for  the 
prospective  bridegroom  to  return  home,  his 
presence,  in  some  districts  of  the  country,  is  not 
considered  an  absolute  necessity.  In  such  a case 
a cock  may  be  his  proxy  (this  actually  occurred 
with  a servant  of  the  author)  ; and  on  return  home 
the  man  may  find  a wife  waiting  for  him  and  the 

57 


The  Much-married  Chinaman 


whole  ceremony  finished  without  the  trouble  of 
his  going  through  it.  It  always  appears  to  be 
necessary  for  the  woman  to  be  present,  though 
of  so  little  consequence  is  the  consent  of  the  two 
parties  to  a marriage,  that  one  might  almost 
suppose  they  could  be  married  in  the  absence  of 
both. 

The  height  of  absurdity,  however,  seems  to  have 
been  attained  when  a poor  girl  is  married  to  a 
dead  man.  This  is  not  an  uncommon  occurrence, 
when  a girl’s  betrothed  dies  before  marriage.  It 
is  then  considered  the  height  of  virtue  and  pro- 
priety when  the  maiden  announces  that  she  will 
marry  the  dead.  She  then  leaves  her  parents  and 
her  childhood’s  home,  and  is  practically  dead  to 
her  own  home  and  relatives,  as  a wife  nearly 
always  is.  She  takes  up  her  abode  with  the 
mother  of  the  dead  man,  and  of  course  is  never 
really  married  to  a living  man  ; for  in  respectable 
society  in  China  it  is  considered  disgraceful  for 
a woman  to  take  another  man  as  her  husband. 
A man  may,  however,  marry  over  and  over  again 
without  let  or  hindrance.  However,  many  a 
Chinese  widow  consoles  herself  with  a husband 
again  after  the  death  of  the  first  ; but  this  is 
more  especially  the  case  in  the  lower  classes  of 
society.  In  the  higher  classes  it  is  considered 
io  be  a disgrace  to  the  late  husband’s  family  for 
the  widow  to  marry  again.  A second  marriage  of 
a woman  is  a very  different  affair  from  the  first  ; 
there  is  no  red  bridal  sedan-chair,  and  the  whole 

58 


Marriage  and  Morals 

thing  may  be  a very  commonplace  affair,  in  com- 
parison with  all  the  pomp  and  ceremony  of  the 
first. 

Amongst  the  very  lowest  classes  there  is  a 
certain  amount  of  immorality,  or  looseness  of  the 
marriage  tie,  in  the  way  of  a wife  leaving  her 
husband  and  taking  up  with  another  man.  This 
is  sometimes  the  case  when  a husband  goes  abroad 
for  years.  In  the  case  of  the  boat  population  it 
is  a matter  of  common  report  that  the  women  are 
not  as  virtuous  as  those  on  land.  In  the  cases 
in  which  a wife  leaves  her  husband,  generally 
amongst  the  working  classes,  a number  of  which 
came  before  the  author  in  his  official  capacity, 
he  found  that  the  husband  was  usually  quite  ready 
to  take  the  wife  back  again  ; but  the  chief  concern 
was  to  get  the  son  returned  again  to  the  family 
in  which  he  was  born,  so  as  to  have  a son  for 
ancestral  worship.  For  the  same  reason  the  other 
man  was  sometimes  wishful  to  retain  the  boy. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  it  is  the  man  who  has 
all  the  plums  in  the  marriage  market — as  many 
wives  as  he  likes,  or  his  purse  will  allow,  divorce 
in  certain  cases,  and  besides  these,  the  power  to 
beat  his  wife.  Man  is  considered  superior  to 
woman  in  every  way  in  China. 

The  Chinese  youth  begins  his  married  fife  early. 
Boys  are  of  age  at  sixteen,  and  most  Chinese 
young  men  are  married  at  twenty,  and  sometimes 
even  years  before. 

The  girls  are  considered  to  be  quite  mature  at 

59 


The  Much-married  Chinaman 


fifteen,  and  some  are  married  long  before  that 
age.  There  is  no  doubt  that  both  boys  and  girls 
arrive  at  maturity  far  earlier  than  in  the  West  ; 
but  there  is  no  doubt  also  that  the  Chinese  enter  on 
the  married  state  too  early  in  life. 


60 


CHAPTER  VI 


John  Chinaman  Abroad 

OHN  CHINAMAN  is  not  welcomed  abroad  in 


many  places  where  his  advent  would  be  most 


beneficial.  Where  he  has  been  allowed  full 
scope  to  develop  his  admirable  qualities  in  coloni- 
sation, he  has  been  the  making  of  the  country.  He 
is  painstaking,  diligent,  industrious ; he  will  work 
from  early  dawn  to  late  night ; he  does  not  go 
on  the  spree  on  Saturday  and  Sunday,  and  have 
to  keep  Saint  Monday  and  Saint  Tuesday  as  well, 
but  is  at  his  work  every  day.  As  to  his  vices, 
they  are,  in  many  cases,  no  more,  ceteris  paribus , 
than  the  Englishman’s. 

Put  on  Chinese  spectacles,  and  you  will  be 
shocked  at  the  immorality  of  some  of  the  European 
residents  in  China  ; at  the  often  seen  drunkenness 
of  the  soldier  and  sailor  ; at  the  rudeness  which 
characterises  the  conduct  of  some  to  the  Oriental 
— rudeness  which  shows  itself  by  a whack  from 
a walking-stick,  or  a prod  from  an  umbrella, 
or  a slash  from  a riding-whip,  as  one  passes  the 
other;  by  the  ill-disguised  superiority  which  shows 


61 


John  Chinaman  Abroad 


itself  in  some  cases  in  almost  every  word  and 
action ; in  the  hauteur  which  often  reveals  itself 
in  the  countenance  ; in  the  ignorant  disregard  of 
Chinese  rules  of  politeness,  even  the  most  elemen- 
tary, which  the  Westerner  not  only  does  not  know, 
but,  strange  to  say,  does  not  even  take  the  trouble 
to  learn,  though  living  surrounded  by  masses  of 
natives  who  are  polite  to  an  almost  painful  degree 
in  the  only  way  they  know. 

The  Chinaman  did  not  want  the  intruding 
Westerner  in  his  country  two  centuries  ago;  but 
the  stranger  would  come  in,  and  used  his  battle- 
ships to  open  a way  for  him  to  enter.  It  was 
inevitable,  doubtless,  and  China  has  benefited 
vastly  by  the  stranger  within  her  gates,  as  most 
countries  do — benefited  vastly  by  the  influx  of 
Western  civilisation ; by  the  breezy  freshness 
infused  into  the  air  of  stagnation;  by  the  intro- 
duction of  a new  literature  abreast  of  the  times, 
which  is  largely  due  to  the  missionaries’  efforts ; 
by  the  establishment  of  hospitals  under  missionary 
aegis,  for  the  cure  of  those  whom  ignorance  had 
left  to  suffer  and  die ; by  the  multiplication  of 
schools,  where  the  mind  was  educated,  and  not 
only  the  memory  at  the  expense  of  mind — this 
again  has  been  done  mostly  by  the  missionaries. 

When  the  Chinaman  followed  the  example  of 
the  European  and  American,  and  desired  like  them 
to  better  his  position  by  going  abroad,  he  was 
first  used  for  needful  work  where  there  was  not 
a sufficiency  of  their  own  people,  as  in  the  construe  - 

6 2 


The  Chinese  Emigrant 


tion  of  the  mighty  railway  lines  across  Canada 
and  the  United  States,  and  then  hounded  out  of 
the  land. 

One  serious  objection  to  the  Chinaman  in  some 
countries  is  that  he  does  not  settle  and  become  one 
of  the  nation,  but  sends  his  earnings  home,  and 
finally  follows  them  himself.  In  short,  he  does 
just  what  the  complainant’s  own  countrymen  do 
in  China,  where  the  European  or  American  mer- 
chant looks  forward  to  going  home,  sends  his 
accumulated  savings  back  to  Europe  or  America, 
and  after  he  has  made  his  pile  returns  to  his  native 
land.  Both  invest  in  a fine  house  and  lands  and 
fields  and  hope  to  enjoy  the  remainder  of  their 
days  in  their  native  lands  on  the  fruit  of  their 
toil,  the  only  difference  between  the  two  being 
that  many  a Westerner,  before  his  hopes  are 
achieved,  takes  six  feet  by  three  by  eight  of  China’s 
soil  to  rest  in,  while  nearly  every  Chinese  is  trans- 
ported dead  or  alive  to  his  native  soil. 

As  to  vices,  there  is  not  much  to  choose  between 
them.  This  blackguarding  of  Chinese  with  foul 
vices  is  to  be  deprecated,  for  it  intensifies  ill-feel- 
ing ; and  if  the  candid  opinion  of  a Chinese,  who 
had  a better  knowledge  of  the  English  than  the 
detractors  of  the  Chinese  have  of  them,  were  asked, 
he  would  honestly  say  that  the  Chinese  morality 
was  of  a higher  standard  than  the  English.  We 
cannot  agree  with  this,  but  we  do  say  that  he  has 
strong  grounds  for  his  opinion,  and  this  without 
in  any  way  wishing  to  decry  our  own  countrymen. 

63 


John  Chinaman  Abroad 


Whatever  may  be  said  about  the  wholesale 
immigration  of  the  Celestial  into  lands  like 
England,  where  there  is  not  even  room  for  all 
those  born  in  it  to  make  an  honest,  decent  living, 
and  bring  up  a family  in  comfort,  it  is  the  rankest 
folly  to  apply  a hard-and-fast  rule  to  all  lands. 

The  Chinese  have,  to  a great  extent,  made 
Malaya  and  all  the  adjoining  portions  of  Asia. 
In  such  lands  where  those  born  in  a temperate 
clime  are  unable  to  toil  in  the  open  under  a blazing 
sun,  the  Chinese  supply  the  raw  material  of  labour, 
and  without  them  these  countries  would  languish. 

There  are  two  notable  instances  of  lands  which 
call  for  the  Chinese  and  to  which  access  is  denied 
them.  There  are  the  Philippines,  where,  by  the 
restrictive  policy  mistakenly  pursued  by  the 
Americans,  this  useful  ingredient  in  the  population 
is  diminishing;  and  there  is  the  Northern  Territory 
in  Australia.  Both  these  lands  are  calling  for 
them,  and  the  Chinese  are  the  very  people  who 
will  supply  the  labour  and  develop  the  resources 
that  now  lie  latent  and  waiting  for  the  genius  of 
the  patient,  toiling  native  of  the  Far  East. 
Development  lies  to  a great  extent  dormant  till 
he  is  permitted  to  enter  these  lands. 

Those  who  raise  objections  to  the  Chinese 
going  abroad  without  their  wives  are  singularly 
ignorant  or  forgetful  of  the  conditions  under  which 
their  own  countrymen  go  abroad  to  India,  China, 
and  Japan,  as  well  as  the  other  countries  on  the 
other  side  of  the  globe.  Our  sailors  go  for  years 

64 


East  and  West  Compared 


to  any  and  every  part  of  the  globe  without  their 
womenfolk,  and  are  confined  in  far  closer  quarters 
on  shipboard  than  any  of  the  roomy  compounds 
in  South  Africa.  Our  soldiers  are  sent  to 
garrison  our  Eastern  Colonies,  and  carry  on  wars 
without  their  wives,  except  in  a few  cases,  and 
shut  up  in  barracks  often  for  long  periods  at  a 
time.  Mechanics  and  artisans  accept  situations 
under  contracts  for  years  in  the  Eastern  Hemi- 
sphere, without  any  chance  in  many  cases  of  taking 
their  families  out  with  them.  These  three  classes 
are  about  the  equivalent  in  social  position  of  which 
the  majority  of  Chinese  labourers  who  emigrate 
are  composed. 

To  ascend  higher  in  the  social  scale,  the  majority 
of  our  naval  officers  and  many  of  our  military 
officers  are  debarred  from  the  enjoyments  of  home- 
life.  All  clerks  sent  abroad  from  Europe  and 
America  to  mercantile  firms  in  the  East  never 
expect  that  in  addition  to  the  passage-money 
supplied  them  a further  allowance  will  be  granted 
them  for  a wife ; and  last  of  all  many  missionary 
societies  insist  on  all  their  younger  agents  pro- 
ceeding to  the  East  unmarried  for  a term  of 
years. 

If  the  Chinese  are  immoral  because  they  do 
not  take  their  wives  with  them  when  going  abroad, 
or  because  they  have  left  their  families  behind, 
while  they  add  to  their  resources  and  hope  to  make 
more  tolerable  the  future  with  their  enhanced 
earnings  abroad — if  all  these  things  prove  them 

65 


John  Chinaman  Abroad 


immoral,  what  about  the  Europeans  and  Americans 
who  leave  their  native  shores  under  the  same 
if  not  worse  conditions  as  prevail  with  the 
Chinese? 

There  are  not  a few  estimable  Englishmen 
abroad  who  will  not  marry,  because  they  have  the 
opinion  that  the  Eastern  climate  is  not  one  to 
which  they  should  subject  one  of  their  own  country- 
women by  marrying  her,  and  taking  her  out  to 
form  a home  for  them  in  their  loneliness.  If  the 
Chinaman  goes  abroad,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  whole  traditions  of  his  race  are  against 
his  taking  his  wife  to  a foreign  land,  where  after 
all  he  is  going  only  to  spend  a few  years  of  his 
life  ; besides,  the  home  has  to  be  kept  up. 
Necessity  forces  him  to  go;  for  there  are  the 
young  children  to  look  after,  and  there  is  again 
his  old  mother,  who  cannot  be  left  alone. 

The  Chinaman  is  a law-abiding  man;  but  he 
needs  to  be  ruled  with  a strong  hand  and  a just ; 
his  national  characteristics  must  be  known  and 
allowed  for,  and  a genuine  and  sympathetic  interest 
evinced  in  him  as  a human  being.  He  is  not  a 
savage,  and  naturally  resents  treatment  as  such. 
The  class  of  man  like  the  overseer,  who  is  placed 
sometimes  in  authority  over  large  working  masses 
of  the  Chinese,  is  often  apt  to  be  very  overbear- 
ing in  his  manner,  and  to  kick  and  knock  about 
the  Chinese  who  are  under  him.  Unfortunately, 
some  higher  in  the  social  scale  forget  themselves 
in  this  way  as  well. 


66 


Emigrant  Wives 

It  is,  however,  a mistake  to  suppose  that  the 
Chinaman  never  takes  his  womankind  abroad  with 
him.  When  he  goes  half  round  the  world,  he 
naturally  often  leaves  her  behind,  though  even 
then  she  accompanies  him  at  times ; but  when  the 
distance  is  short  there  are  large  numbers  of  women 
who  emigrate,  for  instance,  to  places  such  as  Singa- 
pore. The  author  in  his  official  capacity  has  seen 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  them,  and  talked  with 
them.  The  women  often  travel  by  themselves 
to  their  husbands,  who  have  gone  first  and  made 
a home  for  them,  their  mothers-in-law  sometimes 
going  with  them.  In  other  cases  the  husbands 
have  come  home  to  take  the  whole  family  back 
with  them,  and  then  the  wife  and  the  children 
and  perhaps  the  mother  of  the  man  are  in  the 
party,  or  the  man  has  come  back  to  get  married, 
and  take  his  young  wife  with  him  abroad.  Occa- 
sionally even  the  old  grandmothers  go  with  them, 
and  there  is  an  exodus  of  the  whole  family. 

In  the  Straits  Settlements  some  of  the  Chinese 
settle  down  for  life,  taking  Malay  women  for  their 
wives.  Quite  a community  is  growing  up  of  Babas, 
as  they  are  called;  that  is,  native-born  Chinese 
whose  mothers  are  Malays.  In  some  cases  these 
children  thus  born  abroad,  and  so  natives  of 
the  soil,  cannot  speak  their  father-tongue  at  all. 
These  Chinese  who  settle  for  many  years,  if  not 
for  life,  in  those  parts  of  the  world,  become  often 
quite  polyglots  in  their  speech ; for  besides  speak- 
ing the  language  prevailing  in  their  own  district 

67 


John  Chinaman  Abroad 


at  home  in  China,  their  business  relationships 
in  the  new  country  they  have  come  to  makes 
it  necessary  for  them  to  pick  up  the  languages  of 
other  parts  of  China,  as  represented  by  others 
of  the  emigrants.  A knowledge  of  Malay  is  so 
easily  acquired  that  they  all  speak  Malay;  English 
is  also  learned  by  a good  many. 

Many  of  these  Chinese  amass  large  fortunes, 
nor  are  all  the  benefits  they  have  acquired  in  their 
new  surroundings  forgotten,  as  the  wealthy  Chinese 
are  fond  of  using  their  money  for  public  purposes. 

The  author  some  twenty-five  years  ago  had 
occasion  to  employ  a Chinese  gentleman  of  some 
literary  attainments  to  assist  him  in  his  labours. 
Probably  this  man’s  income  from  all  sources  was 
not  more  than  about  £2  or  £3  a month.  A couple 
of  years  ago  this  gentleman  called  to  see  the  author. 
He  had  been  for  some  years  in  the  Federated 
Malay  States,  and  the  family  were  now  well  off. 
He  was  only  on  a visit  to  China,  for  he  was 
returning  to  the  States.  His  sons  and  he  had,  for 
one  thing,  taken  up  tin-mining.  He  had  some 
house  property.  With  the  Chinese  aptitude  to 
seize  on  what  would  produce  money,  he  had 
obtained  spawn  of  tench,  and  when  the  fish  were 
hatched  and  grown  fit  to  eat  had  sold  them  at  a 
good  price,  as  the  Chinese  are  very  fond  of  this 
fresh-water  fish,  and  had  not  previously  been  able 
to  get  them.  On  the  return  of  his  wife  and  himself 
he  was  taking  with  him  a gardener,  to  look  after 
his  garden  in  Kwala  Lumpur. 

68 


The  Chinaman  Abroad 


This  is  a typical  case  of  how  the  Chinese  is 
able  to  get  on  in  the  world,  and  more  especially 
so  when  he  places  himself  in  the  midst  of  new 
surroundings,  when  he  takes  advantage  of  all  the 
openings  which  present  themselves  to  him  to  make 
an  honest  penny. 

The  Chinaman  not  only  goes  abroad  to  foreign 
lands ; he  also  goes  abroad  in  his  own  land,  for 
to  travel  into  another  province,  or  often  even  into 
another  part  of  his  own  province,  is  in  reality 
a going  abroad  to  the  Chinaman.  To  begin  with, 
he  may  find  the  language  different,  and  unless 
there  is  a large  community  of  those  from  his  own 
country-side,  he  is  thrown  amongst  those  who, 
though  of  his  own  race,  are  distinct  from  him  in 
many  a custom,  and  foreign  to  him  in  many  ways. 
In  fact,  he  is  a stranger  in  his  own  land,  and  many 
a time  he  feels  it  too. 

At  all  the  treaty  ports,  up  and  down  the  coast  of 
China,  and  up  the  mighty  rivers,  colonies  of  Can- 
tonese are  to  be  found  as  shopkeepers,  merchants, 
and  compradores  to  foreign  firms.  These,  when 
old  age  arrives  or  infirmities  set  in,  return  to  their 
own  country-sides ; or  their  coffins  carry  their 
remains,  should  death  ensue  before  the  looked-for 
return  is  undertaken.  In  Hong  Kong  are  found 
Amoy  and  Swatow  merchants,  and  even  Ningpo 
and  Shanghai  men,  as  well  as  others  from  more 
distant  parts  of  the  vast  Empire. 

There  are  doubtless  many  Chinese  who  never 
leave  their  native  village  or  its  immediate  neigh- 

69  F 


John  Chinaman  Abroad 


bourhood ; but  there  are  numbers  who  have  been 
far  afield  either  within  or  without  the  confines  of 
the  Celestial  Empire  in  search  of  the  almighty 
dollar.  It  seems  a strange  thing,  but  it  has  been 
hitherto  the  general  rule,  that  however  the  foreign 
civilisation  has  affected  him  when  abroad,  when 
he  returns  the  Chinaman  is  a Chinaman  again. 
In  most  cases  the  influence  of  travel  seems  imper- 
ceptible, though  it  must  have  had  a larger 
leavening  influence  than  the  foreigner,  who  finds 
it  hard  to  see  below  the  surface  when  a Chinaman 
is  concerned,  will  allow.  He  returns  to  his  native 
village,  and  to  all  outward  appearance  he  is  the 
same  man  as  he  was  before,  though  indications 
are  sometimes  to  be  seen  that  his  sojourn  abroad 
has  had  some  influence  on  him,  and  this  , is  getting 
to  be  more  and  more  the  case. 

The  Chinaman’s  adaptability  to  all  climates  and 
conditions  is  marvellous.  He  has  all  conditions  in 
his  own  land.  In  the  extreme  north  of  China  the 
winters  are  arctic  in  their  intensity,  the  rivers  being 
frozen  over.  Throughout  China  the  heat  in 
summer  is  tropical,  the  duration  being  shorter  in 
the  north,  though  the  heat  is  as  great  if  not  greater 
as  one  goes  up  the  coast.  Thus  when  he  goes 
abroad  it  is  seldom  that  John  Chinaman  comes 
across  conditions  that  are  not  to  be  found  in  his 
own  land,  though  at  the  same  time  the  individual 
Chinaman  may  not  have  experienced  them  in 
his  own  person.  His  general  frugality  and 
abstemiousness  have  probably  something  to  do  with 

70 


Chinese  Emigrants 


his  being  able  to  endure  what  others  cannot. 
Added  to  this  is  his  general  good-nature,  which 
enables  him  to  bear  up  under  adverse  circum- 
stances, when  others  of  a less  happy  disposition 
would  give  way  to  their  troubles. 

John  Chinaman  starts  on  his  travels  abroad  at 
the  rate  of  considerably  over  two  hundred  thousand 
a year,  and  about  half  of  these  go  to  the  Straits 
Settlements.  There  is  scarcely  a country  in  the 
world  which  has  not  at  least  one  or  two  Chinese 
in  it.  There  are  only  three  counties  in  England 
which  have  not  a Celestial  in  them.  There  are  two 
hundred  Chinese  students  in  London  alone.  There 
must  be  at  least  between  three  and  four  millions 
abroad  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  amount- 
ing in  number  to  the  population  of  a small 
European  state.  There  are  numbers  of  these  who 
have  not  only  left  their  country  voluntarily  for 
their  own  good  as  well  as  that  of  their  country, 
but  also  to  the  good  of  the  countries  to  which 
they  have  gone;  for  they  benefit  the  countries 
to  which  they  migrate,  as  they  do  their  own 
country  when  they  return.  Amongst  them  there 
may  be  a few  who  are  not  desirable  immigrants. 
It  is  a pity,  however,  that  the  evil  conduct  of  some 
scapegraces,  or  in  some  cases  even  criminals,  who 
have  managed  to  emigrate,  should  cause  the  whole 
race  to  be  unjustly  judged. 


CHAPTER  VII 

John  Chinaman’s  Little  Ones 


HINA  is  the  land  of  children.  No  Malthusian 


law  deters  the  multiplication  of  the  human 
race  there.  All  boys  are  heartily  welcomed  on 
their  arrival  into  this  world,  and  none  are  at  once 
assisted  out  of  it  again,  unless  there  be  some  con- 
genital defect  which  makes  their  presence  unde- 
sirable. With  girls  it  is  a different  matter  ; they 
are  unacceptable,  and  not  to  be  mentioned  in  the 
enumeration  of  one’s  children,  though  the  poetical 
name  of  “ a thousand  pieces  of  gold  ” is  given  to 
them.  However,  a metaphorical  shower  of  gold 
of  this  nature  is  not  desired.  If  means  are  ample, 
they  are  endured,  though  not  wanted.  The  ravages 
of  famine,  the  devastations  of  floods,  straitened 
circumstances,  the  local  customs,  are  all  factors 
in  the  determination  whether  the  child,  if  of  the 
wrong  sex,  shall  stay  in  this  world  or  only  ,be 
here  a few  minutes  or  hours  or  days. 

It  is  absurd  to  argue  that  infanticide  is  no  more 
prevalent  in  China  than  in  England  ; or  to 
describe  it  as  a curse  of  the  land,  which  devastates 
whole  districts.  Let  it  be  granted  at  once  that 


A FAMILY  GROUP. 


A FAMILY  JAUNT. 


Infanticide  and  Slavery 


most  Chinese  parents  would  wish  their  children 
all  to  be  boys  ; and  if  such  could  be  the  case, 
there  would  probably  not  be  a country  on  the  face 
of  the  globe  where  infanticide  was  so  rare — even 
though  in  such  a case  there  would,  in  the  course  of 
a few  generations,  be  no  infants  at  all,  and  the 
whole  race  would  die  out.  It  is  doubtless  true, 
however,  that  cases  have  been  known  where,  so 
prevalent  was  infanticide,  that  locally  girls  could 
not  be  obtained  for  marriage,  and,  as  with  the 
Sabines  of  old,  other  districts  had  to  provide  them. 
In  some  country-sides  in  China  the  crime  is  terribly 
prevalent  ; in  others  it  is  caused  by  adverse 
circumstances,  being  the  inevitable  result  of  bad 
harvests,  a famine,  or  flood  ; and  it  ceases  in 
such  places,  to  a great  extent,  when  the  cause 
has  gone.  Such  disasters  also  cause  a brisk 
market  for  children.  Even  boys  are  sold  at  such 
times,  though  it  is  mostly  the  girls  who  are  eagerly 
snatched  up,  in  some  cases  for  slaves,  but  very 
often  indeed  to  be  brought  up  to  a life  of  vice. 

In  the  discussion  of  all  these  subjects  in  relation 
to  China,  it  must  be  remembered  that  a father  has, 
theoretically,  the  power  of  life  and  death  over  his 
own  children.  Affection  and  public  opinion  prevent 
the  extreme  exercise  of  it  when  the  child  is  well 
on  in  life,  save  in  exceptional  cases,  when  the  son, 
say,  is  a confirmed  gambler  or  opium-smoker, 
and  a reprobate.  But  public  opinion  has  but  little 
to  say  against  a parent  exercising  his  right  over 
a puling  babe.  Again,  it  must  be  remembered 

73 


John  Chinaman’s  Little  Ones 


that  not  all  the  tiny  corpses  floating  seawards  on 
China’s  mighty  rivers,  or  lying  on  the  roadside, 
or  indecently  cast  on  a heap  of  rubbish  with  no 
covering  but  a rotten  piece  of  matting,  are  the 
victims  of  child-murder.  Ancestor  worship  is 
largely  responsible  for  this  unpleasant  phase  of 
Chinese  life.  This  cult  has  no  use  for  an  infant, 
and  denies  a tablet  or  other  memorial  to  any  un- 
married unit  of  the  human  race,  except  in  the  case 
of  the  boat  population,  who  keep  up  their  own 
customs  as  distinct  from  those  of  the  land  people. 
tWith  this  exception  an  infant  is  of  no  consequence 
and  requires  no  decent  interment,  and  that  in  a 
country  where  everything  connected  with  death  is 
deemed  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  living 
as  well  as  to  the  dead. 

A kindly  spirit  (excuse  the  seeming  irony  from 
an  English  standpoint)  prevents  in  a very  few 
cases  the  necessity,  as  the  perpetrators  of  this  in- 
human crime  would  deem  it,  of  actually  killing 
with  their  own  hands  the  infant.  An  instance  of 
this  came  under  the  eyes  of  the  author  at  Chow 
Chow  Fu.  Its  most  revolting  features  were 
revealed  in  a hole  under  the  city  wall,  where  the 
infants  could  be  cast  ; but  not  far  distant  hung 
a basket,  protected  from  the  fierce  rays  of  the 
sun  by  a piece  of  matting  to  form  a sloping  roof 
over  it.  In  this  basket  any  one  bringing  the 
unwanted  child  could  place  it,  and  any  who 
wished  to  thus  easily  obtain  an  addition  to  the 
family  could  rescue  it  from  its  impending  fate. 

74 


Parent  and  Child 


In  a country  where  heads  fall  off  for  several 
crimes  which  are  not  visited  with  death  in  our 
land,  no  capital  punishment  is  the  award  for  the 
crime  of  infanticide.  Though  every  now  and  then 
the  mandarins  issue  proclamations  inveighing 
against  it,  and  urging  the  people  not  to  commit  it, 
yet  they  do  not  set  the  machinery  of  the  law  in 
operation,  for  the  patria  potestas  is  all  powerful 
in  China.  Every  now  and  then  there  are  instances 
of  the  offended  dignity  of  a disgraced  parent 
avenging  itself  on  the  undutiful  son  with  the 
extreme  penalty  for  disobedience.  The  father’s 
life  is  not  forfeit  in  such  a case,  though  the  act 
may  at  times  be  considered  as  very  excessive,  for, 
as  has  already  been  said,  the  father  holds  the  life 
of  the  child  in  his  hands. 

In  China  the  expectant  mother  is  not  busy  for 
months  preparing  a layette  for  the  dear  one  coming 
to  gladden  the  house  ; for  the  little  things  are 
simply  wrapped  in  old  rags  and  clothes  belonging 
to  older  people,  and  for  a month  baby  has  no  name. 
Then  a grand  banquet  is  held,  when  relations  and 
friends  are  invited.  The  men  gather  at  a 
restaurant,  and  feast.  The  women  eat  and  drink 
by  themselves  in  the  house.  Congratulations  are 
offered  and  presents  given  to  the  child. 

The  milk-name  is  now  bestowed  on  the  child,  the 
first  name  he  or  she  receives.  This  clings  to  him 
or  her  through  life,  being  used  by  parents,  relatives, 
and  most  intimate  friends,  as  well  as  by  superiors. 
This  first  name  that  a man  or  a woman  possesses 

75 


John  Chinaman’s  Little  Ones 


is  not  sufficient  for  a Chinaman,  and  even  before 
the  child  is  grown  up  the  boy  will  have  another, 
in  the  shape  of  a school-name.  He  signalises  every 
great  event  in  life,  such  as  marriage  and  official 
appointment,  by  a new  name,  so  that  by  the  time 
he  ends  life  he  has  some  three  or  four  names  to  be 
known  by.  One  gets  acquainted  with  a Chinese 
by  one  name,  and  then  later  on  learns  that  he  has 
another,  and  is  now  known  by  the  other  instead 
of  by  the  first,  which  with  difficulty  one  has  fixed 
in  one’s  memory,  and  a new  effort  of  memory  is 
required  for  the  new  name.  On  or  after  the 
bestowal  of  the  name  the  child  is  properly  dressed 
in  a short  little  jacket  and  pair  of  trousers  open 
back  and  front.  The  jacket  is  often  gay  with 
colours.  No  long  white  robes  and  delicate  lace 
are  seen.  Very  little  children  often  wear  a 
garment  which  reminds  one  of  Joseph’s  coat 
of  many  colours,  being  of  the  pattern  of  a patch- 
work  quilt. 

Paradoxical  as  it  may  seem  after  what  has  been 
said,  it  is  nevertheless  the  truth  that  the  Chinese 
have  a large  share  of  natural  affection  for  their 
children.  The  pride  that  the  fathers  and  the 
grandfathers  take  in  the  toddling  wee  things  is 
one  of  the  pleasantest  sides  of  Chinese  human 
nature,  of  which  there  are  many  very  pleasant 
aspects.  The  surest  way  to  gain  golden  opinions 
from  the  street  crowds  in  China  is  for  the  foreigner 
to  take  notice  of  the  little  darlings  with  their 
winning  ways. 


76 


The  Children’s  Ways 


The  little  ones  almost  as  soon  as  they  can  speak 
are  taught  to  address  the  stranger  by  his  proper 
title  and  with  the  respect  proper  to  his  station 
in  a bold,  clear  voice.  The  quaint  mixture  of 
oldish  ways  and  the  frank  childishness  of  the 
toddling  youngsters  is  very  charming.  Little  old- 
world  dolls,  little  grown-up  men  and  women,  but 
yet  with  the  chubby,  round,  innocent  faces  of  child- 
hood, they  look  up  at  you  with  wonder  on  their 
features,  tinged  perhaps  with  a little  fear,  and 
most  gravely  inquire,  “ Sir,  have  you  eaten  your 
rice  yet?  ” Or  with  a clear  piping  voice  they 
wish  you  “ Good  morning.” 

Quaint  little  mites  of  humanity  ! Droll  speci- 
mens of  the  human  race  1 Millions  and  millions 
of  small  editions  of  John  Chinaman  the  Elder  have 
been  schooled  into  Oriental  ways  and  Far  Eastern 
manners,  till  the  little  ones  seem  but  replicas  of 
the  grown-ups  ; but  with  that  soupgon  of  the  child- 
\yorld  still  clinging  about  them,  with  its  delicate 
suggestiveness  of  other-worldliness. 

Babydom  is  very  much  the  same  in  the  Far 
East  as  in  the  Far  West.  Nursery  rhymes  are 
abundant — one  collection  of  six  hundred  has  been 
made.  Baby’s  mind  and  baby’s  ears  are  very 
much  the  same,  whether  his  father  and  mother 
have  given  him  a white  skin  or  a yellow,  and 
baby’s  father  and  mother,  nurse  and  sisters,  as  well 
as  aunties  and  grannies,  know  what  to  sing  to 
please  him,  soothe  him,  and  quiet  his  peevishness, 
whether  they  live  on  one  side  of  the  globe  or  the 

77 


John  Chinaman’s  Little  Ones 


other.  Is  it  strange  if  the  little  morsels  should 
sometimes  say  in  the  language  which  father  and 
mother  understand  so  well,  “ My  little  body  is 
a-weary  of  this  great  world  ”?  and  need  those 
delightful  little  songs  to  make  them  forget  all  their 
little  troubles?  Wondrous  like  some  of  them  are 
to  our  English  nursery  songs,  while  many  of  them 
have  the  colouring  of  the  East,  and  reflect  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  Orient.  It  seems 
curious  to  us,  doubtless,  to  find  the  following 
verdict  passed  on  the  Chinese  nursery  song,  but 
it  is  given  by  one  who  knew  what  he  was  saying, 
and  it  is  this  : “ There  is  no  language  in  the 

world,  we  venture  to  believe,  which  contains 
children’s  songs  expressive  of  more  keen  and 
tender  affection.” 

It  is  astonishing  what  an  amount  of  enjoyment 
Chinese  children  can  get  out  of  life,  though  the 
Chinese  for  ages  past  have  done  their  best  to  fit 
old  heads  on  young  shoulders.  Their  school-books 
have  taught  them  that  there  is  no  profit  in  play  ; 
centuries  of  repression  have  made  them  quiet 
children.  Under  the  old  system,  they  were  shut 
up  from  sunrise  till  five  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  at 
school,  sitting  on  hard  wooden  benches,  each  sing- 
songing his  lesson  at  the  top  of  his  voice. 

The  old  books  were  fit  only  for  grown-ups  to 
pore  over  and  study.  The  “ Four  Books  ” and 
the  “ Five  Classics  ” were  learned  by  heart,  if 
the  boy  stopped  long  enough  in  school-life  ; then 
he  learned  to  compose  essays  based  on  the  classics 

78 


Schools  and  Toys 

and  to  write  poems.  These,  until  the  last  few  years, 
formed  the  sum-total  of  Chinese  education,  and 
they  are  little  fitted  for  the  youthful  brain.  But 
now  a more  rational  system,  based  on  that  of  the 
West,  is  being  adopted  throughout  the  land.  There 
have  been  no  story-books,  no  allegories,  no  boys’ 
books  of  adventure,  no  thrilling  tales  of  heroes 
or  heroines  to  enchant  boys  and  girls  in  their 
leisure  hours.  It  is  only  of  late  years  that,  thanks 
to  the  missionary,  “ Robinson  Crusoe  ” and  a few 
other  books  suited  to  the  young  have  been  made 
available.  Now,  with  the  new  education,  books 
adapted  to  the  young  are  taking  the  place  of  the 
antiquated  lesson-books. 

There  are  toys,  to  be  sure,  but  the  majority  are 
rude  and  uncouth,  compared  with  the  finished 
products  which  gladden  the  hearts  of  our  young- 
sters. There  are  no  skipping-ropes,  no  cricket, 
no  football,  no  rocking-horses,  no  hoops.  Shuttle- 
cocks there  are,  but  no  battledores,  and  they  are 
as  much  if  not  really  more  for  the  grown-up  men 
than  the  boys,  though  the  boys  kick  them,  to  get 
into  practice,  so  as  to  be  able  to  play  properly 
when  they  become  men.  There  are  small  wooden 
cannon  and  a few  brass  ones  ; rude  swords  made 
of  wood  or  pasteboard,  and  tridents  and  halberds 
made  of  pasteboard,  wood,  or  bamboo  ; kites, 
too — but  these  belong  as  much  to  the  repertoire  of 
men’s  games — pasteboard  mandarins,  earthen  roast 
pigs  (money-boxes)  glorious  in  red  paint  and  gilt. 
These  pigs  are  made  in  all  sizes,  with  a slit  in  the 

79 


John  Chinaman’s  Little  Ones 


back  for  the  copper  cash  to  be  dropped  in,  and  when 
the  pig  is  full  there  is  a glorious  smash  to  get  the 
money  out.  There  are  some  clumsy  iron  marbles, 
which  the  Chinese  boy  shoots  by  pulling  one  finger 
back  with  another,  and  then  letting  it  go  like  a 
spring.  There  are  a number  of  rather  pretty  and 
ingenious  things  made  of  tin  and  bright  metal, 
little  rattles,  two  beads  attached  to  short  strings 
fly  against  the  tin  instrument  as  its  handle  is  twirled 
round  in  the  hand,  small  fly-cages,  little  spillikin 
weapons  consisting  of  tridents,  &c.  Pretty  little 
whirligigs  are  made  of  red-coloured  fluted  paper. 
There  are  tops  which  come  into  play  at  certain 
seasons  of  the  year,  for  the  toys  in  China,  as  in 
our  Western  lands,  have  their  proper  seasons. 

There  are  a few  toy-shops  in  the  big  cities, 
but  there  are  also  stalls  where  certain  primitive 
toys  are  spread  out  for  sale,  and  where  for  a 
cash  or  two  a purchase  can  be  made  by  the 
toddling  little  youngster,  or  by  a grown-up  person 
on  his  behalf.  But  the  season  when  all  these 
places  overflow  with  a plethora  of  these  delights 
of  childhood  is  the  China  New  Year,  the  time  of 
all  times,  not  only  for  the  little  ones  in  China 
but  for  every  one  from  the  oldest  to  the  youngest  ; 
for  then  every  one  becomes  a child  again,  and 
plays  and  enjoys  himself  to  the  utmost.  Besides 
the  shops  and  stalls,  there  are  the  hawkers  of 
toys,  who  go  about  the  streets  selling  them. 

Chief  almost  of  all  is  the  ping-pom  man,  with 
his  pretty  white  and  red  ^glass  ping-poms,  ranging 

80 


Toys  and  Toy-makers 

from  tiny  little  ones  to  great  big  ones.  They 
consist  of  a tiny  tube  of  glass  which  widens  out 
into  a closed  cup,  the  shape  somewhat  of  the  cup 
for  playing  our  Western  game  of  cup  and  ball, 
but  the  cup  portion  is  closed  with  a thin  film  of 
glass.  The  end  of  the  tube  is  put  in  the  mouth, 
and  by  gentle  blowing  out  and  breathing  in  the 
tiny  diaphram  of  glass  vibrates  with  a sound  like 
ping-pom,  to  the  immense  delight  of  the  children. 
Too  strong  a breath  breaks  the  glass,  and  a rough 
hand  smashes  the  whole  affair,  so  frail  is  it. 

Another  peripatetic  toy-man  is  the  maker  of  paste 
images.  He  has  a stick  of  bamboo  for  his  ground- 
work, and  he  deftly  works  on  to  the  end  of  it  a 
little  image  of  man  or  woman,  about  three  inches 
high.  He  has  little  accessories  to  put  into  their 
hands  ; and  now  it  is  a warrior,  with  spear  or 
sword,  in  all  his  panoply,  eager  for  battle  ; now 
his  skill  produces  a domestic  ; and  thus  he  goes 
on  modelling  and  colouring  his  little  figures, 
while  an  admiring  crowd  gathers  round  him,  and 
sees  him  create  his  little  manikins  as  he  stands 
in  the  street. 

But  notwithstanding  all  this,  what  child  is  there 
that  cannot  make  toys  for  himself?  And  little 
John  Chinaman  is  not  behind  the  rest  of  the  world 
in  this  respect.  A few  sticks  and  stones,  a corner 
of  the  house  or  a bit  of  a garden,  and  there  is  his 
paradise,  where  he  makes  believe  and  lives  a perfect 
life  in  the  childish  Kingdom  of  Pretend,  where 
he  is  full  of  the  richest  joys,  incomprehensible 

81 


John  Chinaman’s  Little  Ones 


to  his  elders,  who  often  sweep  away  all  his  most 
real  pretendings  with  most  unfeeling  hands  and 
unseeing  eyes.  Though  the  China  boy  does  not 
actually  need  toys,  any  more  than  any  other  child 
does,  they  help  him  on  wonderfully  in  the  world  in 
which  he  lives — a world  which  the  stupid  grown- 
ups can  no  more  understand  than  his  childish  mind 
can  comprehend  theirs. 

With  girls — but  what  are  girls  in  China?  Even 
the  nursery  rhyme  says  virtually,  Of  what  use  is 
a girl? 

“We  keep  a dog  to  watch  the  house, 

A pig  is  useful  too ; 

We  keep  a cat  to  catch  a mouse, 

But  what  can  we  do 
With  a girl  like  you?” 

Of  course  some  of  the  toys  mentioned  above  are 
used  by  girls  ; but  kites  and  shuttlecocks  and 
tops  are  not  girls’  toys  in  China,  and  really  ,it 
comes  to  very  few  indeed  that  they  can  amuse 
themselves  with,  for  there  are  no  dolls.  Just  think 
of  it  ! No  dolls  to  dress  and  undress,  and  learn 
all  a mother’s  ways  arid  tenderness  by. 

Then  besides  the  toys  there  are  also  sweet- 
meats on  stalls  or  carried  about  the  streets — so 
many  different  kinds,  wheat-sprout  toffee,  pepper- 
mint stick,  so  white  and  clean-looking  and  such 
a contrast  to  the  dirty  fingers  of  the  boy  who  is 
selling  it.  Then  there  are  kum-ying-ko,  like  little 
brown  marbles,  and  as  you  suck  them  you  come 
across  little  bits  of  the  leaf  which  flavours  them 

82 


Infant  Gamblers 


in  your  mouth.  There  are  many  other  nice  things, 
especially  at  New  Year,  when  there  is  candied 
cocoanut,  and  ginger  and  sugared  bits  of  melons 
cut  in  little  squares  and  other  shapes,  and  oranges 
galore — all  spread  out  and  offered  to  every  visitor, 
so  that  the  youngsters  can  munch  them  nearly 
all  day  long. 

There  is  also  the  pickle-hawker,  with  unripe 
mangoes,  carambolas,  sliced  cucumbers  dripping 
with  vinegar,  and  set  out  in  crocks  so  tempting 
and  delicious  to  the  Chinese  child.  But  alas  1 
alas  1 these  tempting  titbits  are  often  made  the 
bait  to  lure  the  little  innocent  things  on  to  gamble, 
and  the  toddling  little  babies  stake  their  cash  as 
to  whether  they  shall  gain  or  lose  by  the  throw  of 
the  dice  or  the  turn  of  the  wheel.  No  wonder 
the  Chinese  are  such  ardent  gamblers  ; they  are 
brought  up  to  it  from  babyhood  with  the  memory 
of  sweet  morsels  or  acid  pickles. 

It  is  not  all  sugar-plums  and  sweets,  though,  in 
China.  Almost  all  the  children  are  spoiled.  They 
will  be  petted  to  their  hearts’  content,  getting 
everything  they  cry  for,  until  some  out-and-out 
naughtiness  rouses  the  ire  of  parent.  Then  all 
the  pent-up  vials  of  wrath  are  broken  on  the 
little  one’s  head.  If  he  escapes  without  a slap 
or  a good  beating  he  is  fortunate. 

Unlucky  is  the  poor  little  slave-girl  under  such 
circumstances.  Tiny  little  things,  some  of  them 
are,  sold  into  a family,  to  be  the  drudge  of  the 
house,  run  errands,  look  after  the  children,  and 

83 


John  Chinaman’s  Little  Ones 


do  whatever  they  are  told.  Chinese  servants  are 
more  a part  of  the  family  than  in  the  West,  and  so 
these  slave-girls  are  in  the  family,  and  to  a certain 
extent  of  it  ; but  if  they  have  a cruel  mistress, 
her  cruelty  will  at  times  find  its  full  vent  on 
these  helpless  creatures.  They  will  be  beaten  till 
they  are  covered  with  bruises.  Not  content  with 
that  the  brutes  in  human  shape  will  sometimes 
burn  the  slave’s  skin  with  live  incense  sticks.  The 
abolition  of  this  domestic  slavery  is  one  of  the 
reforms  which  China  must  soon  take  up  if  she 
wishes  to  belong  to  the  comity  of  civilised  nations. 
A beginning  has  already  been  made  in  this 
direction. 

The  servitude  of  these  domestic  slave-girls  is 
not  for  life,  for  they,  as  a rule,  are  married  off 
by  their  mistresses  when  they  attain  a marriage- 
able age. 

The  infant  mortality,  apart  from  deaths  by 
infanticide,  must  be  awful  in  China.  Instead  of 
at  first  giving  the  babe  Nature’s  provision  for  its 
nourishment,  tiny  oblong  sweet  cakes  are  crammed 
into  the  little  mouth  for  several  days.  As  the 
child  grows  older  manifold  are  the  dangers  that 
assail  it  from  injudicious  diet.  Then  it  has  the 
gauntlet  of  childhood’s  diseases  to  run,  with  but 
little  assistance  from  ignorant  mothers,  and  from 
still  more  ignorant  so-called  doctors,  or  old  wives, 
who  perambulate  the  streets  pretending  to  cure 
infantile  complaints. 

It  is  a marvel  that  so  many  of  them  escape 

84 


Infantile  Disorders 


death,  which  seems  lurking  at  every  corner  ready 
for  them.  For  the  last  hundred  years  the  little 
ones  have  been  protected  from  the  ravages  of 
smallpox,  which  as  an  epidemic  previously  swept 
like  a plague  over  the  land,  devastating  many 
a home.  Inoculation  was  in  vogue  before  that. 
Babies  in  China  have,  however,  the  monopoly  of 
vaccination  ; for  the  Chinese  have  not  yet  learned 
the  utility  of  re-vaccination.  Consequently  nearly 
every  winter  there  are  still  a number  of  cases  of 
smallpox. 


»5 


G 


CHAPTER  VIII 


The  Past  of  John  Chinaman 


F all  men  John  Chinaman  has  a past.  Some 


people  are  ashamed  of  their  past,  but  John 
Chinaman  need  not  be  ; for  his  is  a glorious 
past.  He  has  taken  full  advantage  of  it,  and 
lived  in  it  for  many  centuries,  even  for  millenniums 
long  gone  by.  In  truth,  so  long  back  has  his 
vision  extended  that  until  just  recently  he  was  very 
short-sighted  to  many  aspects  of  the  present, 
so  accustomed  had  he  become  to  only  gazing  with 
ecstatic  rapture  on  the  golden  ages  of  the  sages, 
instead  of  looking  to  the  future  or  rejoicing  in 
the  present.  His  outlook  is  now  extending,  and 
embraces  a glorious  future,  though,  unaccus- 
tomed as  he  has  made  himself  to  look  forward, 
his  vision  is  apt  to  be  distorted.  He  sees  men  as 
trees  walking  ; his  perspective  is  uncertain.  But 
as  the  mists  of  the  past  dissolve,  and  as  he  adjusts 
his  sight  to  the  new  standpoint,  the  objects  he 
has  in  view  will  fall  into  their  true  relationships 
with  their  environments. 

We  may  open  the  page  of  history  at  what  corre- 


86 


Early  History 

sponds  to  our  Western  era  of  2356  b.c.  There 
are  volumes  and  pages  before  that  ; but  they  are 
very  blurred,  and  the  writing  is  indistinct.  Age 
has  obscured  the  narrative  ; legend  and  myth  pre- 
dominate, and  are  so  blended  with  a substratum 
of  fact  that  the  latter  is  obscured  by  the  former, 
so  that  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  to  unravel  the 
thread  of  truth  that  may  run  through  the  tangled 
mass,  even  for  long  after  the  date  already 
mentioned. 

Even  the  Chinese  will  not  believe  all  their 

histories  state.  That  they  do  not  place  implicit 

reliance  on  all,  may  be  seen  by  the  quotation 

from  their  classics  in  common  use  said  to  those 

who  rely  implicitly  on  whatever  is  printed.  The 
sentence  is  : “ It  would  be  better  to  be  without 
The  Book  of  History  than  to  give  entire  credit 
to  it.” 

What  transcendent  interest  would  attach  to  the 
beginnings  of  a race  like  the  Chinese  if  any 
records  of  that  distant  past  could  be  discovered  ! 
Had  the  tribes  which  came  into  the  land  from, 
say,  the  north-west  and  spread  over  it,  only  had 
scribes  or  historiographers,  and  noted  their 
joumeyings,  told  their  impressions,  described  the 
new  land,  written  down  their  numbers  in  hiero- 
glyphic or  cuneiform  or  tadpole-characters  on  rock 
or  stone  or  on  clay-cylinders,  what  a hiatus  in 
the  world’s  history  would  have  been  bridged  over  ! 
But,  alas  ! there  seems  nothing  authentic  to  be 
found,  at  present,  at  all  events. 

87 


The  Past  of  John  Chinaman 

The  Chinese  do  not,  like  the  Hindoos,  go  back 
to  an  era  called  “ The  Unspeakable  Inexpres- 
sible,” which  requires  several  pages  full  of  cyphers 
following  a unit  to  express  this  inexpressible,  or, 
to  be  more  precise,  4,456,448  cyphers  after  a 
figure  1.  The  Chinese  are  content  with  500,000 
years  for  their  mythological  period. 

There  is  one  thing  to  be  observed  in  the  account 
of  the  early  eras  which  Chinese  history  reaches 
out  to  embrace  in  its  grasp.  It  has  been  very 
well  put,  by  one  authority  on  the  Chinese,  as 
follows  : “ There  is  no  hierarchy  of  gods  brought 
in  to  rule  and  inhabit  the  world  ; ” they  made  “ no 
conclave  on  Mount  Olympus,  nor  judgment  of  the 
mortal  soul  by  Osiris  ; no  transfer  of  human  love 
and  hate,  passions  and  hopes  to  the  powers  above  ; 
all  here  is  ascribed  to  disembodied  agencies  or 
principles,  and  their  works  are  represented  as 
moving  on  in  quiet  order.” 

How  universal  the  belief  in  giants  in  olden 
times  appears  to  have  been  ! Those  in  China 
were  beneficent  beings,  though  manlike,  herculean 
in  strength  and  enormous  in  size.  The  great  giant 
Poon  Kwu  out-distanced  all  others,  as  he  grew 
six  feet  every  day.  As  he  lived  18,000  years,  his 
length  of  days  must  have  kept  pace  pretty  well 
with  his  height.  Mankind  has  benefited  by  his 
labours  to  this  day,  as  he  hewed  out  the  earth 
from  chaos  with  chisel  and  mallet.  He  was  im- 
mortalised by  his  transformation  into  the  different 
elements  : his  breath  into  winds  and  clouds  ; his 

88 


Ancient  Worthies 


voice  into  thunder  ; his  perspiration  into  rain  ; 
while  the  mountains,  the  rivers,  the  fields,  the 
stars,  the  herbs  and  trees,  the  metals,  rocks,  and 
precious  stones  were  also  formed  from  different 
parts  of  his  body,  and  last  of  all  the  parasites  on 
him  became  human  beings.  A trio  of  rulers 
succeeded  for  another  18,000  years,  when  a batch 
of  inventions,  &c.,  took  place,  such  as  good  govern- 
ment, the  art  of  eating  and  drinking,  marriage, 
and  sleep.  But  we  cannot  follow  the  course  of 
true,  or  even  false,  Chinese  history  through  all  its 
wonderful  stories  and  narrations,  and  recount  the 
marvels  that  occurred  in  the  reigns  of  Fu-hsi, 
Yao,  Shun,  and  Yu’s  reigns,  at  which  time,  perhaps, 
the  present  race  of  Chinese  came  into  China. 

The  names  of  Fu-hsi  and  Shen-nung  and 
Hwang-ti  stand  out  prominently  as  amongst  the 
greatest  benefactors  of  the  race,  the  last  being 
the  reputed  founder  of  this  great  Empire.  In 
Yu’s  time  the  great  deluge  in  China  took  place, 
the  precursor  of  many  a subsequent  and  serious 
overflow  of  the  Yellow  River.  At  that  time  China 
enjoyed  her  golden  age,  and  heaven  even  sent 
showers  of  gold,  which  a more  prosaic  age  will 
probably  suppose  to  be  meteoric  showers. 

Yau,  Shun,  and  Yu  were  a trio  of  sages  or 
worthies,  on  which  subsequent  China  has  exhausted 
her  praise,  and  eulogium  caps  eulogium  in  a de- 
lineation of  their  perfect  characters  and  virtues.  By 
reflecting  their  grandeur  and  nobility  of  character 
and  worth,  Confucius,  the  Sage  of  all  Sages  in 

89 


The  Past  of  John  Chinaman 


the  Land  of  Sages,  is  exalted.  Against  the  back- 
ground of  evil — a degenerate  age  compared  with 
China’s  golden  age — he  and  Mencius  shine  with 
all  the  lustre  of  those  who,  single-hearted  and 
noble  of  aspiration,  work  all  their  lives  for  the 
good  of  their  country. 

Lao-tsz,  another  of  earth’s  most  noble  men,  left 
his  impress  on  his  country  and  people,  tincturing 
their  life-stream,  as  Confucius  and  Mencius  have 
done  in  time  past  and,  though  in  a lessening 
degree,  still  destined  to  do  for  time  to  come  ; 
their  influence  in  the  future  will  not  be  what  it 
has  been  hitherto — some  of  China’s  young  students 
are  saying  that  they  have  no  use  for  Confucius  now. 

A feudal  age  was  this  : scores  of  contending 
states  warred  amongst  themselves.  War  was  their 
play  ; but  they  played  fast  and  loose  with  much 
of  what  should  have  been  held  in  solemn  esteem  ; 
hence  the  strong  disapproval  of  Confucius  ; hence 
the  stern  lectures  of  Mencius  ; hence  the  terse 
aphorisms  of  Lao-tsz.  The  country  was  politically 
split  up  into  small  states  ; little  kingdoms  with 
petty  tyrants  as  rulers.  Out  of  the  turmoil  and 
confusion  one  suzerain,  or  powerful  state,  rose  to 
the  supreme  power,  and  China  consolidated  into 
a whole,  the  smaller  kingdoms  being  absorbed, 
under  the  famous,  or  infamous,  Tsun  Shih  Hwang 
Ti.  He  was  the  builder  of  the  Great  Wall,  of 
palaces,  and  public  edifices,  and  the  constructor  of 
canals  and  roads  ; alas  1 also,  the  destroyer  of 
the  books  and  literati.  With  overweening  confi- 

90 


Succeeding  Dynasties 

dence,  having,  as  he  thought,  destroyed  all  records 
of  the  past,  he  called  himself  the  First  Emperor. 
The  tyrant’s  hand  was  powerless  over  the  memory 
of  those  scholars  who  escaped  the  massacre  meted 
out  to  their  fellows,  and  by  their  aid,  assisted  by 
a few  copies  hidden  away  while  the  iconoclastic 
storm  raged,  the  ancient  classics  were  restored 
to  China.  Thus  closes  the  ancient  history  of  this 
Empire. 

After  this  Han  and  Tong  and  Sung  and  Yuen 
and  Ming  and  Tsing  all  succeeded  each  other  in 
the  dynastic  history  of  this  great  and  mighty 
Empire.  They  came  and  went,  colouring  with 
their  distinctive  features  the  land  and  the  people. 
The  last  dynasty  has  yellow  for  its  royal  hue. 
Some  might  say  jaundice  and  decay  were  typified 
by  this  ; and  such  a statement  would  not  have  been 
amiss  a few  years  since  ; but  now  let  us  rather 
hope  with  the  uplift  of  China  that  it  presages 
a golden  future. 

Many  a grand  example  has  been  shown  to 
descendants  on  the  Imperial  throne  by  those  who 
conformed  to  the  precepts  laid  down  in  the  ancient 
Book  of  History,  one  of  which  runs  as  follows  : 
“ Order  your  affairs  by  righteousness,  order  them 
by  propriety,  so  shall  you  transmit  a great  example 
to  posterity.”  Unfortunately  posterity  did  not 
always  follow  the  example  laid  down  by  the  first 
rulers  of  dynasties,  with  the  result  that  ere  long 
a new  dynasty  arose,  and  swept  away  the  corrup- 
tion of  the  last.  Time  and  again  this  occurred. 

9i 


The  Past  of  John  Chinaman 

Energy,  vigour  of  action,  uprightness  of  purpose, 
signalised  the  rise  of  most  of  the  many  regal 
houses  in  China.  The  introduction  of  fresh  blood 
into  the  royal  palaces  was  a harbinger  of  hope 
for  the  whole  Empire  ; but  the  royal  breed  soon 
deteriorated  qgain,  as  effeminacy  and  luxury,  con- 
cubines and  eunuchs  exerted  their  influence.  Is 
not  all  this,  as  a skeleton,  recorded  in  the  thousand 
and  one  histories  in  China,  and  flesh  tints  and 
blood  hues  sparsely  added  a la  Chinois?  But,  to 
the  European  student  who  is  not  imbued  with  the 
enthusiasm  for  the  Orient  and  touched  with  the 
glamour  of  the  East,  it  is  pretty  much  a dead 
past,  which  requires  the  vivifying  influence  of  an 
Occidental  imagination  to  breathe  the  breath  of 
life  into  the  inanimate  mass,  and  to  collect  the 
bones,  lying  as  debris  in  a valley  of  apparently 
dry  bones,  into  a corporate  whole.  Many  pages, 
however,  of  the  thousands  of  volumes  are  of  great 
interest,  and  were  they  not  set  up  in  an  almost 
dead  language  known  to  so  few,  they  would  not 
be  so  unknown  in  the  West. 

The  Chinese  prize  their  past,  and  while  the 
present  is  fast  transforming  itself  into  that  past, 
the  Imperial  historiographers  in  Peking  are  busy 
transcribing  its  momentous  events  for  the  future, 
an  unknown  and  indefinite  future,  in  which  at  the 
right  moment — when  the  reigning  dynasty  has  its 
record  closed,  and  not  till  then — the  books  will  be 
unsealed.  Until  then  they  are  sealed  books,  and 
not  even  the  Emperor  himself  may  know  what  is 

92 


Ancient  Records 


being  written  of  his  actions  and  deeds,  and  whether 
praise  or  blame  is  assigned  to  him  and  his  pro- 
genitors for  the  last  three  hundred  years. 

There  seems  something  awe-inspiring  in  this 
silent  record,  shut  out  from  the  knowledge  of  all, 
ceaselessly  going  on,  and  no  one  able  to  add  to 
it,  or  alter  it  except  those  specially  set  apart  for 
the  purpose.  When  those  whose  story  is  recorded, 
and  to  whom  praise  and  blame  have  been  assigned 
— when  these  and  all  connected  with  them  are  dead 
and  gone  the  books  will  be  brought  out,  and 
judgment  delivered  to  future  generations  ; then 
the  censures  and  eulogies  are  first  seen  by  the 
public,  when  the  remotest  chance  of  suppression 
of,  or  interference  with,  the  truth  has  gone. 

Not  only  are  there  general  histories  of  China, 
running  up  into  hundreds  of  volumes,  but  special 
pe'riods  are  selected  by  those  who  are  interested  in 
them,  and  treated  of  exhaustively. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  stories  in  China 
is  the  historical  novel,  known  as  The  History  of 
the  Three  Kingdoms,  and  many  of  the  Chinese  have 
learned  more  of  history  from  it  than  from  the  real 
history  of  the  period  itself.  It  deals  with  the 
feudal  times,  and  the  intrigues  and  wars  and  the 
doughty  doings  of  some  of  China’s  most  renowned 
statesmen. 

Long  before  our  Saxon  chroniclers  were  penning 
their  narratives,  and  before  Caesar  was  describing 
his  invasion  of  our  shores,  Chinese  historians  were 
gravely  recounting  their  country’s  wonderful 

93 


The  Past  of  John  Chinaman 

history,  and  the  tale  has  been  continued  down  to 
the  present  day.  The  strangers  within  the  gates 
of  this  Empire  from  our  Western  lands  who  have 
studied  the  Chinese  historical  works  most — and 
they  are  a score  in  number  of  the  leading  sino- 
logues— speak  highly  of  them.  With  all  their  im- 
perfections they  are  far  and  away  the  best  con- 
tinuous history  of  any  Asiatic  people. 

Amidst  some  of  the  most  famous  of  the  thousands 
of  histories  extant  in  China  may  be  mentioned 
The  Book  of  History  (one  of  the  “ Five  Classics  ”), 
The  Bamboo  Annals,  and  the  great  historical  works 
known  as  The  Seventeen  Histories,  in  two  hundred 
volumes,  The  Twenty -two  Histories,  The  General 
Mirror  of  History,  History  Made  Easy,  and  The 
Historical  Memoirs. 

As  one  writer  has  well  said  : “ The  Emperor 
and  his  ministers  fill  the  whole  field  of  historic 
vision  ; little  is  recorded  of  the  condition,  habits, 
arts,  or  occupations  of  the  people,  who  are  merely 
considered  as  attendants  of  the  monarch,  which 
is,  in  truth,  a feature  of  the  ancient  records  of 
nearly  all  countries  and  peoples.”  1 Events  which 
must  have  been  of  thrilling  interest,  if  noticed  at 
all,  are  dismissed  with  a word  or  two.  No  wonder 
the  Chinese  histories,  so  meagre  in  detail  at  first, 
develop  into  many  volumes  eventually,  as  the 
dynasties  are  twenty-five  in  number,  only  reckoning 
from  b.C.  2205  with  a duration  of  164  or  165 
years  on  an  average  to  each  dynasty  for  the  4, 1 1 4 
' Williams,  p.  154. 

94 


Picturing  the  Past 

years.  The  sovereigns  during  that  period  were 
225,  thus  giving  an  average  of  a little  over  eighteen 
years  to  each  emperor.  The  present  dynasty  has 
lasted  for  267  years,  with  ten  monarchs,  two  of 
whom  occupied  the  throne  for  sixty  years.  The 
second  who  reigned  so  long  might  have  gone  on 
still  longer  as  ruler  of  this  mighty  nation,  but  con- 
sidered it  an  act  of  filial  piety  to  abdicate,  so  as 
not  to  exceed  the  time  his  grandfather  reigned. 

How  difficult  it  is  to  throw  oneself  back  into 
bygone  times,  and  try  in  thought  to  live  the  life 
which  lies  buried  in  the  past,  a phase  or  two  of 
which  has  been  caught  and  preserved  in  the  books  ! 
Doubly  difficult  is  it  for  the  Occidental  to  picture 
the  past  of  the  East,  though  a life  lived  in  that 
quarter  of  the  world  helps  him  to  a better  realisa- 
tion of  it  ; for  the  conditions  in  the  Far  East  have 
not  changed  so  vastly  between  the  past  and  the 
present  as  they  have  in  the  Far  West. 

A residence  in  the  Far  East  also  assists  the 
Westerner  to  appreciate  better  what  life  must  have 
been  in  his  own  land  in  the  mediaeval  ages,  as  the 
current  of  events  flows  in  pretty  much  the  same 
channels,  or  has  done  up  to  the  present,  at  one 
extremity  of  the  world  as  it  did  in  the  other 
extremity,  some  five  hundred  years  ago.  The 
conditions  of  life,  the  difficulties  of  travel,  and 
many  other  aspects  of  existence,  are  all  reminiscent 
of  the  accounts  the  Englishman  has  read  of  how 
his  own  countrymen,  in  common  with  the  rest  of 
Europe,  lived  in  the  time  of  Chaucer,  and  later. 

95 


The  Past  of  John  Chinaman 

Much  has  disappeared  for  ever  from  the  records  of 
the  past  both  in  the  East  and  West,  and  left  many 
gaps,  though  with  the  fewer  changes  that  have 
taken  place  in  China  the  past  is  better  compre- 
hended than  it  is  with  us  ; for  the  present,  to  an 
enormous  extent,  has  been  simply  a continuation 
of  what  has  gone  on  before.  In  the  main,  things 
have  been  the  same  for  centuries  as  they  were 
ages  ago.  The  thoughts  of  the  ancients  crystallised 
into  the  classics,  which  hundreds  of  years  ago  had 
the  fixed  light  of  the  Commentaries  of  Chu-Hsi 
turned  on  them,  the  sentiments  of  these  old-world 
sages  still  prevailing  ; the  customs  and  manners 
have  been  based  on  the  ancient  Book  of  Rites; 
the  same  primitive  plough,  rake,  and  mattock  of 
prehistoric  times  are  in  the  hands  of  the  farmer. 
The  Chinese  still  lives  in  the  cities  that  his 
forefathers  built  centuries  ago  ; the  same  old 
crenelated  walls  circle  them  ; the  same  narrow 
streets  strike  through  them  from  gate  to  gate, 
or  wriggle  with  sharp  angles  round  the  comers. 
The  same  temples,  many  of  them  built  centuries 
ago,  are  scattered  here  and  there,  hidden  among 
the  low-lying  houses,  tied  up,  as  it  were,  in  the 
little  intricate  knots  of  evil-smelling  alley-ways, 
set  down  where  it  needs  an  expert  to  find  them. 
The  same  old  gods  looking  down  from  behind 
the  flimsy  curtains,  and  through  the  clouds  of 
incense  on  the  worshippers,  as  generation  after 
generation  have  come  before  them  with  their  woes 
and  joys — in  grief  with  lamentations,  and  in  joy 

96 


Unchanged  and  Changing 

with  exultation  of  heart  ancl  with  thanksgivings . 
The  ancient  style  of  the  houses  is  still  adhered 
to — the  changes  being  but  slight,  glass  gradually 
taking  the  place  of  the  oyster-shell  or  the  oiled 
paper. 

And  all  these  things  must  enable  the  Chinese 
to  picture  their  past  far  more  easily  than  we 
can  ours,  where  nearly  everything  is  changed  so 
completely,  not  only  as  regards  the  furnishing  for, 
and  providing  of,  our  daily  wants,  but  also  as 
concerns  our  mental  apparelling  and  pabulum. 

But  this  is  evidently  all  to  be  changed  in  the 
future.  The  tendency  is  towards  change,  for  even 
now  a beginning  is  being  made  in  the  demolishing 
of  the  relics  of  the  past.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
this  will  not  be  allowed  to  be  carried  to  too  great 
an  extent  ; for  a day  will  come  when,  as  in  the 
West,  it  will  be  difficult  without  special  study  to 
picture  the  past,  to  give  it  a living  reality,  to 
bring  it  vividly  before  the  mind,  and  see  it  as  it 
was. 

Proposals  have  been  made  with  regard  to  some 
cities  to  throw  down  their  walls  and  turn  them 
into  boulevards,  as  in  Paris  ; in  Nanking  a good 
carriage  road  has  been  made  ; an  embankment 
is  being  constructed  on  the  river-front  in  Canton, 
and  other  improvements  of  a like  nature  are  taking 
place  ; so  that  when  the  present  in  China  changes 
to  the  past,  it  will  in  the  future  be  a different 
past  from  what  the  present  past  has  been. 

John  Chinaman  was  very  self-contained  in  his 

97 


The  Past  of  John  Chinaman 

past.  He  jostled  against  his  neighbours,  to  be 
sure,  but  he  gave  more  than  he  took  in  the  process, 
and  held  himself  with  the  pride  which  such  a 
free  imparting  necessarily  produces.  From  small 
beginnings  the  Empire  grew,  spreading  out  ; now 
restricted,  now  divided,  now  united,  and  surging 
forward  and  extending  still  further  the  realms, 
till  in  the  Tang  they  reached  the  Caspian.  China 
has  had  her  invasions,  as  well  as  invaded  other 
countries.  All  the  neighbouring  nations  have  felt 
the  force  of  her  arms,  and  her  prowess  has  broken 
many  an  insurrection.  Her  own  people  have  ruled 
her  through  most  of  her  history,  but  Tartar, 
Mongol,  and  Manchu  have  all  had  their  turn,  and 
the  latter  is  still  the  ruling  power.  It  may  truly 
again  be  said  that  China’s  past  is  not  one  to  be 
ashamed  of  ; on  the  contrary  it  is  one  the  people 
may  well  be  proud  of. 


98 


CHAPTER  IX 


The  Mandarin 


HE  word  mandarin  (the  last  vowel  pro- 


1 nounced  as  ee ) is  derived  from  the  Portu- 
guese word  mandar , to  command,  and  means  the 
members  of  the  body  of  officials  who  have  the 
power  and  right  to  govern  the  people. 

Mandarindom  is  recruited  from  the  ranks  of  the 
people ; it  is  not  hereditary,  but  those  who  fill 
it  are  by  merit  raised  to  that  high  eminence.  It 
is  not  a nobility,  but  is  simply  the  higher  ranks 
of  the  civil,  military,  and  naval  services.  Not 
every  official  is  a mandarin,  but  every  mandarin 
is  an  official. 

There  is  nothing  in  our  Civil  Service  externally 
to  distinguish  officials  ; but  a mandarin  is  clad  in 
gorgeous  robes  of  silk  and  satin,  wears  a red- 
corded  hat,  and,  to  cap  all,  a button,  as  it  has 
been  termed,  at  the  apex  of  his  conical-shaped 
hat.  It  is  called  a button  by  courtesy,  although 
it  is  not  a button  at  all,  but  a round  ball,  like  the 
gilt  ball  that  surmounts  some  military  helmets. 


99 


The  Mandarin 


It  is  in  some  cases  elongated  into  a spike-shaped 
termination  to  the  hat,  as,  again,  on  other  helmets. 
The  mandarin  wears  these  robes  and  hat  on  all 
occasions  when  in  the  public  performance  of  his 
official  duties.  He  is  not  compelled,  like  the 
private  soldier  with  us,  always  to  appear  in 
uniform,  for  he  may  appear  in  mufti  when  off 
duty. 

Of  these  so-called  buttons  there  are  nine 
different  kinds,  or  rather  there  are  nine  different 
grades  of  those  who  wear  them.  The  colour 
and  material  of  these  appendages  to  the  hat  show 
forth  the  rank  of  the  wearer.  Three  of  the  lowest 
grades  of  rank  are  represented  by  buttons  iden- 
tical, or  nearly  so.  The  status  of  these  three 
classes  are  shown  by  the  round  knobs  on  their 
hats  being  of  gold — plain  gold  in  the  seventh  and 
worked  gold  in  the  two  lower  ranks.  The  highest 
ranks  have  a ruby  and  coral  button  respectively; 
then  come  a sapphire  and  a lapis  lazuli;  and  next 
a crystal  and  white  stone. 

The  position  which  the  high  official  holds  as 
regards  the  nine  divisions  is  also  set  forth  in  the 
embroidered  robe.  A square  of  embroidery  in  the 
front  and  back  of  the  long  gaberdine,  or  robe,  is 
in  the  case  of  the  civil  mandarins  worked  with 
birds  for  decoration.  These  birds  are  the  crane, 
golden  pheasant,  peacock,  wild  goose,  silver 
pheasant,  egret,  and  others,  each  serving  to  show, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  buttons,  the  rank  which  the 
official  who  wears  them  has  attained. 


ioo 


Jffx 


THREE  DISTINGUISHED  MANDARINS. 


AMnftY 


ROOM  IN  GOVERNOR’S  YAMEN 


Insignia  of  Mandarins 


In  the  case  of  the  army  and  navy  (which  have 
been  hitherto  considered  as  one  service),  wild 
beasts  are  used,  as  more  typical  of  the  position 
of  such  officers.  Until  lately  combatant  officers 
were  considered  vastly  inferior  to  their  brethren  of 
the  civil  service,  though  both  branches  of  the 
services  unite  in  having  the  same  kind  of  girdle- 
clasps.  To  one  well  versed  in  these  distinctions 
in  dress,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  being  able  to 
differentiate  between  the  rank  of  the  wearers,  or 
to  distinguish  between  the  peace  officials  and  those 
whose  business  is  war. 

Besides  the  buttons  and  other  insignia  of  rank, 
mandarins,  instead  of  the  orders  with  which  our 
Government  servants  are  rewarded,  have  varying 
Imperial  presents  or  privileges  granted  them,  such 
as  the  yellow  riding-jacket,  permission  to  ride 
within  the  palace  gates,  &c.  In  addition  almost 
every  high  official  wears  the  single-eyed  or  the 
double-eyed  peacock  feather,  which  is  affixed  to 
the  back  of  the  official  hat,  and  slopes  down  over 
the  neck. 

The  mandarin  bears  no  sword  as  the  insignia 
of  his  work — it  is  no  part  of  the  court  dress,  as 
in  our  Western  nations,  and  this  is  emblematical 
of  the  Chinese  attitude  towards  the  sword  and 
all  that  it  connotes,  or  is  the  emblem  of.  It  is 
taken  up  by  those  whose  business  it  is  to  use 
it,  when  it  is  considered  to  be  necessary  to  draw 
it  in  warfare,  but  it  is  not  constantly  worn  at  the 
side  ready  for  action.  It  has  not  been,  as  in  our 

IOI  h 


The  Mandarin 


countries  at  one  time,  part  of  a gentleman’s  dress. 
In  fact,  it  was  rather  derogatory  to  the  gentleman 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  such  a war-like 
weapon.  What  place  the  renaissance  of  China 
may  give  to  the  sword  remains  to  be  seen,  but  it 
is  at  present  against  the  Chinese  spirit  to  glorify 
such  an  emblem  of  destruction.  The  military 
career  has  been  hitherto  despised  as  a low  calling 
compared  with  civil  employment. 

A high  official  is  supposed  to  be  a man  of 
weight  in  China  ; for  his  sedan-chair  is  borne 
by  eight  coolies,  while  a decrease  in  rank  only 
entitles  to  four  bearers,  and  the  lowest  officials  are 
carried,  as  every  one  may  be,  by  two.  A little 
procession  attends  the  goings-out  and  comings -in 
of  the  higher  mandarins.  “ The  usual  attendants  of 
the  district  magistrate  are  lictors  with  whips  and 
chains — significant  of  the  punishments  they  inflict  ; 
they  are  preceded  by  two  gong-bearers,  who  every 
few  moments  strike  a certain  number  of  ” great 
blows  on  their  gongs,  “ to  intimate  their  master’s 
rank,  and  by  two  avant-couriers,  who  howl  out 
an  order  for  all  to  make  room  for  the  great  man. 
A servant  bearing  aloft  a loh , or  state  umbrella,” 
“ also  goes  before  him,  further  to  increase  his 
display  and  indicate  his  rank.”  A subordinate 
“ usually  runs  by  the  side  of  his  sedan,  and  his 
secretary  and  messengers,  seated  in  more  ordi- 
nary chairs,  or  following  on  foot,  make  up  the 
cortege.  Lanterns  are  used  at  night,  and  red 
tablets  in  the  daytime  to  indicate  his  rank.” 

102 


Way  for  the  Great 

Officers  of  higher  ranks  have  a few  soldiers  in 
addition.1 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  there  is  much  of  pomp 
and  circumstance  about  the  Chinese  mandarin’s 
life.  When  he  stirs  out  of  his  yamen  on  official 
duties  or  to  pay  a ceremonial  call,  a salute  of  three 
guns  is  fired,  which  informs  the  whole  city  that 
the  “ great  man  ” is  going  out.  When  the  highest 
officials  pass  through  the  streets,  all  traffic  is  sus- 
pended, and  the  populace  line  the  sides  of  the 
narrow  streets  even  before  the  procession  comes, 
none  daring  to  walk  down  the  open  space  left 
in  the  centre  until  the  great  and  awful  magnate 
has  passed,  when  the  busy  street  resumes  its  wonted 
aspect. 

While  awaiting  his  coming  the  loud  booming  of 
the  deep-toned  gong  announces  his  advent.  Per- 
fect silence  reigns  supreme,  only  broken  by  the 
cries  of  his  attendants,  as  their  shouts  clear  the 
way  from  any  possible  misapprehension  of  their 
master’s  greatness.  There  is  no  cheering,  no 
lifting  of  hats,  for  the  good  reason  that  the  majority 
have  no  hats  to  lift  in  summer,  and  at  all  times  in 
China  it  would,  according  to  their  etiquette,  be 
rude  to  bare  the  head  before  a superior,  unless 
the  hat  be  a common  felt  hat  or  a workman’s 
enormous  bamboo  one.  Even  if  the  dignitary  be  a 
popular  official,  this  dead,  undemonstrative  silence 
prevails,  though  a petition  may  occasionally  be 
thrown  into  his  chair.  No  notice  is  taken  by  the 
1 Williams,  i.  pp.  503-4. 

103 


The  Mandarin 


“ great  man  ” himself  of  what  passes  before  his 
eyes  : he  sits  impassive  as  a Buddha,  utterly  de- 
tached, it  would  appear,  from  all  his  surroundings, 
and  to  all  appearance  apathetic  and  untouched 
by  what  he  may  see,  seeing,  but  not  apprehending 
— dead,  one  would  think,  to  all  mundane  affairs. 
Such  is  considered  the  proper  attitude  for  a 
mandarin  to  assume. 

The  Cantonese  Viceroy,  Yeep,  who  was  taken 
prisoner  by  the  English  and  carried  to  India,  on 
nearing  Calcutta,  at  the  termination  of  his  voyage, 
felt  no  interest  to  all  outward  appearance  in  his 
surroundings,  and  evinced  no  desire  to  see  the  new 
land  to  which  he  had  come.  Nevertheless  he  was 
suddenly  surprised,  by  some  one  unexpectedly 
coming  into  his  cabin,  in  the  act  of  gazing  out 
of  the  port-hole.  He  had  clambered  there  to  get 
a view  of  the  strange  city  and  land  to  which  he 
was  coming.  Chinese  mandarins  are  men  after 
all,  but  they  are  not  expected  to  show  it  to  the 
public. 

A curious  feature  in  a mandarin’s  procession 
is  the  great  screen-like  fan  on  a pole  which  is 
carried  before  him  by  one  of  the  retinue.  If  the 
procession  of  another  mandarin  is  met,  and,  as 
one  of  our  poets  writes, 

“ Beneath  the  Imperial  fan  of  slate 
The  Chinese  Mandarin  ” 

is  seen,  then  if  superiority  of  position  does  not 
demand  recognition  and  the  necessary  delay,  the 

104 


An  Arduous  Life 


gigantic  fans  in  each  procession  are  interposed 
hastily  by  their  bearers  between  the  two  officials, 
and  the  fiction  of  not  having  seen  each  other  is 
acted  on. 

The  life  of  an  official  in  China,  if  he  occupies 
a high  position  and  rules  over  a populous  district 
of  country,  is  arduous  in  the  extreme.  He  knows 
no  hours.  His  work  is  never  done.  He  is  up 

before  dawn,  and  official  receptions  take  place  in 
the  small  or  early  hours  of  the  morning.  The 
health  of  many  a man  is  injured  by  the  incessant 
toil  and  unremitting  anxiety.  His  only  long 
holiday  is  when  his  father  or  mother  dies  ; then 
he  has  to  resign  office  nominally  for  three  years — 
the  period  of  a son’s  mourning  for  his  parents — 
but  really  only  for  twenty-seven  months.  A few 
feast-days  may  give  him  some  amount  of  respite, 
and  a month  at  New  Year  some  degree  of  rest, 
when  his  seal  is  given  over  to  the  custody  of 
his  wife,  where  it  would  be  difficult  for  any  rascal 
to  obtain  it  and  use  it  wrongfully.  His  only  chance 
of  retirement  is  on  account  of  ill-health,  and  it 
has  to  be  so  pronounced  as  to  render  him  unfit 
for  public  toil  ; repeated  requests  for  permission  to 
retire  on  the  score  of  illness  are  often  refused. 

Not  only  is  the  mandarin  often  hard-worked, 
harassed  with  many  cares,  and  loaded  with 
responsibilities,  but  also  his  tenure  of  office  is  in- 
secure. He  is  subject  to  blame  for  no  fault  of 
his  own,  such  as,  for  instance,  an  extensive  con- 
flagration in  the  city  which  is  the  seat  of  the 

105 


The  Mandarin 


government  he  is  in  charge  of,  or  a famine  in 
the  country,  or  a flood.  He  is  bound  to  report  all 
these.  Should  he  put  on  too  tight  a pressure 
to  raise  money,  and  exceed  the  usual  amount  of 
taxation  to  which  people  under  him  have  been 
accustomed,  then  all  the  shops  in  the  aggrieved 
portion  of  the  city  may  be  closed  as  a protest 
against  his  exactions,  and  he  must  hasten  to 
reduce  his  extortionate  demands,  lest  the  report 
of  it  should  reach  head-quarters.  He  has  enemies 
all  round  him  who,  if  he  has  offended  them  or 
passed  them  over,  or  if  he  stands  in  their  way, 
are  ready  to  magnify  his  peccadilloes,  and  report 
his  flagrant  crimes  or  dereliction  of  duty.  When 
reporting  his  own  shortcomings,  he  asks  that 
punishment  may  be  meted  out  to  him  for  his 
misrule  in  allowing  such  calamities  and  disasters, 
as  mentioned  above,  to  visit  the  people  under 
his  charge.  This  curious  custom  is  carried  so 
far  that  the  occupant  of  the  throne  himself 
publicly  confesses  to  his  people,  when  any 
disasters  occur,  that  they  are  the  result  of  his 
shortcomings. 

The  poor  mandarin  often  has  a bad  time;  for 
there  is  a body  of  censors,  officially  appointed, 
whose  duty  is  to  pounce  upon  him  and  bring  any 
misdeeds,  sometimes  fancied,  sometimes  real,  to 
the  notice  of  the  Son  of  Heaven  himself.  Nor, 
indeed,  has  it  been  unknown  that  some  brave  and 
noble  censor  who  has  had  the  weal  of  his  country 
at  heart,  has  even  dared  to  point  out  to  the  occupant 

106 


The  Way  to  Office 

of  the  Dragon  Throne  his — the  Emperor’s — mis- 
deeds. 

It  is  not  impossible  for  some  enemy,  high  in 
power,  to  ruin  the  mandarin,  by  procuring  frequent 
promotions  for  him.  Scarcely  is  he  settled  in  a 
position  at  one  extremity  of  the  Empire,  when  he 
may  have  to  travel  across  to  the  other  extreme  ; 
and  this  may  be  repeated  to  different  distant 
provinces.  The  poor  official’s  funds  and  resources 
will  be  then  more  than  exhausted,  and  ruin  stare 
him  in  the  face.  Such  a case  has  occurred  before 
now. 

Every  native-born  American  may  rise  to  be 
President  of  the  United  States,  so  every  Chinese 
youth,  unless  he  belongs  to  the  prohibited  classes 
(such  as  the  barber,  the  play-actor,  and  the  boat- 
man, all  to  the  third  generation),  may  rise  to  the 
highest  position  in  the  Empire,  short  of  the  throne 
itself.  The  road  is  through  education.  This  is 
the  incentive  offered  to  every  budding  schoolboy, 
the  motive  that  spurs  on  the  flagging  energy  of 
the  worn-out  student,  the  goal  which  the  graduate 
may  hope  to  attain  as  vacancies  occur. 

The  naval  and  military  mandarin  has  gained 
his  position,  till  quite  recently,  by  athletic  prowess, 
hence  his  inferior  standing.  Brains  have  been  at 
a discount  in  these  branches  of  the  Government 
service.  This  is  now  being  changed. 

The  military  mandarin  has  the  power  of  life 
and  death  in  his  hands,  for  martial  law  prevails 
in  the  army.  It  is  thus  not  only  in  the  time  of 

107 


The  Mandarin 


war  that  the  Chinese  soldier  carries  his  life  in 
his  hands,  but  in  the  time  of  peace  as  well  ; for  if 
he  be  guilty  of  any  crime,  off  goes  his  head  in 
a twinkling. 

Bribery  and  corruption  reign  rampant  in  China, 
as  they  do  in  most  Asiatic  countries.  A premium 
is  put  on  the  system,  as  the  salaries  and  allow- 
ances given  even  to  the  highest  officials  are  not 
sufficient  to  meet  the  current  expenses  of  the  estab- 
lishments they  have  to  keep  up.  A viceroy  ruling 
millions  of  people  will  have  a salary,  the  equivalent 
of  that  paid  to  a European  clerk  or  mercantile 
assistant  in  Hong  Kong  or  Shanghai.  He  gets  a 
few  allowances,  to  be  sure,  but  these  are  also  on 
a small  scale.  True,  he  has  his  yamen , that  is, 
courts,  prisons,  offices,  barracks,  and  private  resi- 
dence, all  in  one  large  congeries  of  buildings — 
a multum  in  parvo — but  all  these  need  to  be  kept  in 
repair  in  a trying  climate  which,  with  the  aid  of 
white  ants,  seems  determined  to  ruin  a building 
as  soon  as  possible.  He  has  to  maintain  his  body- 
guard and  numerous  servants — a plurality  of 
servants  is  a necessity  in  the  East.  He  has  to 
support  his  family,  and  it  is  probably  a large  one, 
with  not  a few  wives  and  many  children.  He 
gets  no  pension,  and  so  has  to  make  enough  to 
permit  him  to  spend  his  old  age  in  comfort  and 
ease.  He  must  pay  the  travelling  expenses  for 
himself  and  family  and  suite,  as  well  as  servants, 
from  his  last  appointment,  or  from  Peking,  and 
it  may  be  a journey  of  hundreds  or  thousands  of 

108 


The  Omnipresent  Bribe 


miles  by  land  or  river  or  sea..  Also  money  must 
be  saved  up  for  presents  to  superiors,  or  even 
to  the  highest  and  most  august  personages  in  the 
Empire  on  the  expiry  of  his  present  term  of 
office. 

How  can  all  these  expenses  be  met  out  of  the 
paltry  pay  assigned  to  the  office,  even  supple- 
mented as  it  is  by  a few  allowances  ? The  neces- 
sary consequence  is  that  all  officials,  with  the 
rarest  exceptions,  are  only  too  glad  to  receive 
presents  from  not  only  the  officials  under  them,  but 
from  litigants  and  from  whoever  may  have  any 
request  to  make,  or  who  is  in  any  way  brought 
into  contact  with  the  “ great  man.”  An  honest 
mandarin,  perfectly  free  from  bribes  and  presents, 
finds  himself  hampered  on  all  sides  by  a want  of 
the  money  required  for  his  needful  expenses,  and 
he  dies  not  only  poor,  but  deeply  in  debt,  leaving 
his  family  in  abject  poverty.  He,  however,  has 
the  esteem  of  the  whole  country;  encomiums  from 
high  and  low  are  showered  on  his  head,  and 
fragrant  is  his  memory. 

And  yet  the  people  foster  and  condone  the 
very  system  they  condemn  by  their  approval  of 
an  honest  official.  It  seems  inbred  in  the  bones 
of  the  man  from  the  Far  East  to  give  presents 
and  offer  gifts.  The  present  opens  the  way  to 
a request,  and  paves  the  road  for  the  asking  of 
a favour.  The  Western  official  in  the  East  dreads 
the  advent  of  a present  : timeo  Danaos  et  dona 
ferentes.  The  only  way  to  stop  them  is  to  set 

109 


The  Mandarin 


one’s  face  as  a flint  against  them,  no  matter  how 
insignificant,  valueless,  or  worthless  they  may  be, 
when  connected  in  any  way  with  one’s  official  duties 
or  life.  It  is  the  only  safe  course  to  pursue. 
Though  there  is  so  much  corruption  in  China,  there 
are  not  a few  officials  in  China  who  have  the 
welfare  of  their  people  at  heart,  and  who  try  to 
rule  as  well  as  they  can. 

A semi-official  newspaper  published  in  Peking 
informs  us  that  “ The  Chinese  Government  has 
decided  to  fix  the  emoluments  and  expenses  of  all 
officials,  metropolitan  and  otherwise,  and  to  forbid 
them  to  make  extra  money  clandestinely.  It  has 
further  decided  to  allow  the  officials  of  places 
along  the  coast  double  the  pay  of  those  in  the 
interior.  It  is  hoped  that  this  reform  will  be 
put  into  force  at  no  distant  date.”  This  is  good 
news,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  will  really 
soon  be  put  into  force  and  be  a death-knell  to 
corruption,  or  at  least  the  beginning  of  the  end 
of  the  miserable  state  of  affairs  connected  with 
mandarindom  in  China. 

The  rank  of  mandarins  is  sometimes  thrown 
open  to  aspirants  to  the  honours  of  such  exalted 
positions  in  the  most  curious  ways,  according  to 
our  notions  of  the  fitness  of  things.  If  the  Govern- 
ment is  short  of  money,  wealthy  men  may  purchase 
rank,  and  be  entitled  to  wear  the  robes,  buttons, 
and  other  insignia  of  the  position.  This  is  in- 
veighed against  every  now  and  then  by  some 
officials  who  see  the  harm  of  it.  Again,  the  leader 

IXO 


Purchased  Rank 


of  a rebellion  is  often  bought  over  to  the 
Imperialist  side  by  the  promise  of  office  ; and 
if  he  has  the  faith  to  believe  what  is  offered  to 
him  he  often  reaps  the  reward  of  that  faith,  but 
he  sometimes  pays  for  his  belief  with  his  life, 
as  it  is  not  considered  treachery  to  break  one’s 
word  to  an  enemy  of  one’s  country. 

The  maxim  that  all  is  fair  in  war  is  fully 
believed  in  in  the  East.  With  those  who  purchase 
rank  it  is  often  simply  the  position  and  status 
that  the  money  has  obtained,  and  the  right  to 
appear  on  all  occasions  of  ceremony  in  the  robes 
and  insignia  that  appertain  to  the  rank  pur- 
chased, though  in  some  cases  office  itself  is 
obtained.  These  recipients  of  official  rank  do  not 
have  the  honour  and  the  respect  of  their  fellows 
which  is  accorded  to  those  who  have  obtained 
the  position  by  hard  study  and  examination.  In 
fact,  there  is  a certain  feeling  of  contempt  for 
them.  There  is  no  caste  in  China,  though  an 
Emperor’s  son  tried  once  to  introduce  it  from 
India,  fortunately  without  success.  The  nearest 
approach  to  it  is  this  class  of  mandarins,  and 
the  literati,  forming  the  body  of  cadets  who  become 
the  mandarins.  There  is  also  another  class — that 
of  the  gentry.  These  are  composed  of  gentle- 
men, generally  literati,  and  in  this  way  the  two 
circles  impinge.  These  gentry,  let  it  be  under- 
stood, are  not  mandarins,  but  they  have  a good 
deal  to  say  in  local  matters,  and  sit  in  council 
on  the  affairs  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  are  looked 

hi 


The  Mandarin 

to  by  the  mandarins  to  keep  a certain  amount  of 
respectability  and  order  in  their  neighbourhood 
—in  fact,  they  assist  the  officials  to  some  extent 
in  their  governance  of  the  people,  as  they  are 
looked  upon,  as  said  above,  for  the  maintenance 
of  good  order.  Even  in  the  villages  this  system 
is  carried  out,  and  the  elders  of  the  village  form 
a body  who  exercise  a certain  rule  over  their 
village. 

The  Englishman  goes  abroad  to  foreign  lands 
to  take  up  the  white  man’s  burden  ; the  Chinese 
mandarin  also  goes  abroad  to  take  up  the  yellow 
man’s  burden — the  load  of  his  own  country’s 
governance — for  abroad  it  is  to  him  in  many  a case, 
as  he  travels  to  strange  scenes,  he  settles  amongst 
those  who  talk  a different  language,  and  finds  new 
customs  and  habits  of  life  prevalent.  He  requires 
interpreters  to  understand  what  is  being  said,  and 
to  interpret  what  he  says  to  the  natives  of  the 
place. 

The  language  in  which  the  official  business 
is  conducted  is  called  Mandarin,  and  is  spoken 
over  a large  part  of  China.  All  mandarins,  if 
it  is  not  their  native  tongue,  learn  it  ; but  it 
is  a foreign  speech  to  many  of  them  and  often 
badly  spoken  by  those  who  thus  acquire  it. 

A mandarin’s  tenure  of  any  particular  office  is 
for  three  years,  unless  promotion  comes  sooner, 
when  there  is  another  uprooting,  and  he  is  abroad 
again,  though  at  home  in  his  own  land  ; for  no 
official  is  allowed  to  rule,  except  in  the  rarest  cases, 

1 12 


Literary  Pursuits 

in  his  own  native  province,  as  the  Chinese  use  every 
safeguard  to  prevent  favouritism.  For  this  reason 
he  must  not  take  a wife  from  amongst  those  he 
rules  over,  nor  are  father  and  son  allowed  to  hold 
office  in  the  same  province.  The  son  in  such 
cases  gives  way  to  the  father.  An  instance  has 
just  happened  lately  where  a son  was  an  intendant 
of  circuit  in  the  Honan  province,  and  his  father 
was  appointed  governor  of  that  province.  The 
son  had  to  be  transferred  to  another  part  of  the 
country. 

Many  a mandarin  comes  up  from  the  long 
curriculum  of  study  that  is  necessary  to  gain 
success  at  the  examinations  (which  are  the  doors 
to  the  waiting-room  for  candidates  to  office)  an 
ardent  student,  and  he  employs  what  leisure  he 
has  in  literary  labours  and  the  composition  of 
verse.  Many  of  the  works  that  add  to  the  lustre 
of  China’s  literature  are  due  to  the  pen  of  her 
mandarins. 

The  official  government  of  China  is  to  the 
stranger  apparently  a complex  one  ; but  on  a 
closer  examination  of  it,  it  will  be  found  to  be 
more  simple  than  was  at  first  thought  to  be  the 
case  ; and  it  is  one  which  is,  on  the  wholej  well 
adapted  to  the  people.  In  the  provinces  the 
mandarins  are  formed  into  different  boards,  or 
committees  of  ways  and  means,  for  the  depart- 
ments or  provinces  over  which  they  have  sway. 
In  the  metropolis,  where  the  government  centres 
for  the  whole  Empire,  there  are  numerous  boards, 


The  Mandarin 


which  fulfil  the  functions  of  equivalent  departments 
of  state  and  councils  of  one  sort  and  another  in 
our  Western  lands.  Attention  has  already  been 
called  to  one  of  the  most  curious  of  these,  the 
Censorate,  composed  of  some  forty  or  fifty 
members. 

A system  of  promotion  and  degradation  is 
established  for  officials,  and  the  curious  part  of 
it  is  that  the  mandarin,  in  the  proclamations  he 
issues,  details  them.  The  fortunate,  or  un- 
fortunate, man  cannot  hide  his  honours  or  his 
disgraces,  and  the  same  individual  has,  if  high 
in  the  service,  several  of  each  to  his  name.  He 
first  gives  his  surname,  with  the  offices  he  holds, 
and  then  he  sets  forth  how  many  times  he  has 
been  promoted  and  how  often  degraded.  It  is 
a well-understood  thing.  No  one  thinks  any  the 
worse  of  him  for  it  ; the  one  falls  as  much  to 
his  lot  as  the  other,  if  long  in  the  service.  Nor 
can  he  avoid  the  one  more  than  the  other  ; and 
he  may  not  be  worthy  of  the  one,  nor  to  blame 
for  the  other. 

Already  there  are  signs  that  the  gorgeous  East 
will  conform  herself  to  the  West  more  and  more 
in  the  future  than  she  has  done  in  the  past  : 
already  the  naval  officers  of  the  modern  warships 
have  adopted  the  Western  style  of  uniform,  for 
flowing  robes  and  silks  and  satins  are  not  con- 
gruous with  the  modern  battleship.  They  may 
be  in  unison  with  the  old  bizarre  war-junk,  all 
gay  with  bright  colours  and  streamers,  but  invisible 

1 14 


Naval  Uniform 


grey  ironclads  take  a different  dress,  sober  hues 
are  more  in  keeping  with  their  sober  colours.  The 
men  also  approximate  more  to  the  West  in  their 
uniform,  though  there  is  enough  of  the  East  about 
it  to  make  it  more  picturesque,  for  a bit  of 
colour  is  imparted  to  it  by  the  scarlet  cummer- 
bund round  the  waist  of  the  sailors. 


CHAPTER  X 

Law  and  Order 


N elaborate  code  of  laws,  in  existence  for 


many  centuries,  is  the  ground-work  which 
governs  the  action  of  those  who  administer  the 
laws.  As  each  new  dynasty  occupies  the  throne, 
a new  revision  takes  place,  and  a digestion  of 
the  former  code,  and  the  result  is  a new  edition 
or  version,  the  foundations  of  which  were  laid 
twenty  centuries  since,  when  a simple  code  was 
drawn  up,  based  on  an  even  still  earlier  and  more 
rudimentary  system.  The  evolutionary  process  has 
gone  on  all  down  through  the  ages.  There  have 
arisen,  of  course,  as  different  additions  were  made, 
ambiguity,  confusion,  complications,  intricacies  and 
inconveniencies,  artificialities  and  complexities  ; 
but  what  complex  and  full  system  of  law  does 
not  contain  within  it  all  these  faults?  Take  it 
all  in  all,  “ the  Chinese  penal  code  is  admirably 
adapted  to  the  requirements  of  its  teeming  popu- 
lation of  law-abiding  subjects,  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  great  difference  in  the  fundamental 
principles  on  which  the  superstructure  is  founded.” 


116 


Guilt  Presumed 


The  Edinburgh  Review  said  of  the  code  : 
“ We  scarcely  know  any  European  code  that  is 
at  once  so  copious  and  so  consistent,  or  that  is 
so  entirely  free  from  intricacy,  bigotry,  and 
fiction.  In  everything  relating  to  political  free- 
dom or  individual  independence  it  is  indeed  woe- 
fully defective  ; but  for  the  repression  of  dis- 
order and  the  gentle  coercion  of  a vast  population, 
it  appears  to  be  equally  mild  and  efficacious.” 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that,  opposite  to  us 
in  so  many  things,  the  Chinese  are  at  one  with 
us  in  all  the  principles  underlying  their  laws.  We 
need  not  even  travel  to  the  other  side  of  the 
world  to  find  the  greatest  differences  between  the 
different  nations  in  this  respect.  To  take  one 
of  the  chief  axioms  that  prevails  in  our  law  courts, 
viz.,  that  no  man  is  guilty  till  proved  to  be  so, 
and  its  corollary,  that  the  prisoner  or  defendant 
is  also,  when  once  he  has  pleaded  “ Not  guilty,” 
in  all  his  defence  to  pose  as  if  he  believed  so 
himself,  while  the  magistrate  or  judge  gives  him 
all  the  assistance  he  can  in  keeping  up  the 
semblance  of  innocence  until  he  is  proved  guilty. 

Almost  the  contrary  principle  prevails  in  China, 
with,  no  doubt,  the  result  that  a less  number  of 
guilty  ones  escape  through  the  meshes  of  the  law 
than  under  the  British  system,  though  it  is  to 
be  feared  that  occasionally  some  innocent  ones  are 
caught,  and  suffer  for  uncommitted  crimes,  perhaps 
at  times  not  a few.  Were  no  other  influences 
brought  into  play  than  those  which  are  seen,  there 

1 17  1 


Law  and  Order 


is  no  doubt  the  system  would  work  admirably, 
and  the  well-being  of  the  many  be  conserved. 
The  laws  are  divided  into  the  lut,  or  fundamental 
laws,  and  lai,  supplementary  laws  : the  former 

are  permanent  ; the  latter,  which  are  liable  to 
revision  every  five  years,  are  the  modifications, 
extensions,  and  restrictions  of  the  fundamental 
laws.  Each  article  of  the  fundamental  laws  has 
been  likewise  explained  or  paraphrased  by  the 
Emperor  Yung  Ching,  “ and  the  whole  of  the  text 
is  further  illustrated  by  extracts  from  the  works 
of  various  commentators.  These  appear  to  have 
been  expressly  written  for  the  use  and  instruc- 
tion of  magistrates,  and  accordingly  form  a 
body  of  legal  reference  directly  sanctioned  for 
that  purpose  by  the  Government.” 

To  a certain  extent  the  Chinese  officials  partake 
more  of  the  character  of  the  commissioners  or 
collectors  in  our  Indian  Empire.  There  are  judges 
or  judicial  commissioners,  who  are  few  in  number, 
and  of  exalted  position  ; one  serving  for  a 
province,  with  twenty  million  or  more  inhabitants  ; 
almost  all  the  other  officials,  from  the  district 
magistrate  upwards,  perform  judicial  functions,  as 
well  as  fiscal  and  executive.  From  a court  of 
first  instance,  if  the  crime  deserves  it,  the  criminal 
is  passed  on  to  higher  tribunals,  to  fix  his  fetters 
still  stronger  on  him  or  to  release  his  bonds. 
The  consequence  of  all  this  is  that  a large  city 
will  contain  several  prisons  attached  to  the  quarters 
and  offices  of  different  officials. 

118 


Prison  Life 


With  nearly  everything  connected  with  Chinese 
life,  we  must  try  and  hark  back  to  the  condition 
of  our  own  country  in  not  later  times  than  that 
of  Queen  Bess.  Transferring  ourselves  in  thought 
to  this  period  of  our  country’s  history,  what  would 
otherwise  surprise  us  will  appear  perfectly  reason- 
able and  natural. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  when  the  most 
elemental  laws  of  sanitation  have  been  unknown, 
that  the  prisoner  will  be  treated  with  due  regard 
to  considerations  for  his  health  or  well-being. 
Death,  it  is  to  be  feared,  claims  some  of  his 
victims  sooner  than  he  is  entitled  to,  and  snatches 
them  away  before  the  formalities  of  the  refer- 
ence to  Peking  and  the  reply  from  the  Throne 
can  be  received.  There  is  no  proper  supervision 
of  the  prisons  : no  visiting  justices  make  a per- 
ambulation of  them  once  a week,  and  listen  to  the 
complaints  of  the  prisoners.  Gaolers  are  keen 
on  making  the  most  they  can  from  those  com- 
mitted to  their  mercy,  or  rather  want  of  mercy. 

The  food  supplied  is  not  adequate,  but  every 
facility  is  allowed  to  friends  and  relations  to  sup- 
plement the  meagre  fare,  which  is  not  sufficient 
to  keep  soul  and  body  together.  A silver  key  is 
necessary  for  any  friends  to  gain  access  to  a gaol, 
and  the  gauntlet  of  all  the  rapacious  warders  and 
guards  can  only  be  run  with  a full  purse,  or 
an  effective  closing  up  of  ingress  is  enforced.  The 
prisoners  are  manacled  in  many  cases,  and  herded 
together  in  large  numbers,  with  no  employment 

119 


Law  and  Order 


to  ease  the  enforced  confinement  ; unshaven  and 
unshorn,  they  present  a hideous  sight. 

There  are  signs  that  this  old  regime  is  changing, 
and  prison  reform,  which  has  but  scarcely  begun, 
will,  we  hope,  ere  long  quite  revolutionise  the 
whole  system.  Not  only  are  the  underlings  in  the 
whole  yameti  open  to  the  persuasive  influence  of 
silver,  but  gifts  pervert  justice  amongst  even  the 
higher  officials,  and  the  longer  purse  is  generally 
able  to  win  the  day  in  the  long  run. 

The  extreme  penalty  of  the  law  seems  frequent 
in  its  infliction,  but  let  us  remember  that  in  the 
time  of  our  grandfathers,  or  fathers  even,  a man’s 
life  was  of  less  account  than  a sheep’s  and 
hundreds  were  executed  for  stealing  that  animal. 
Probably  life  is  as  secure,  if  not  a good  deal 
more  so,  in  China  than  it  was  in  those  days  in 
our  own  land  when  the  sacredness  of  human  life 
was  little  respected. 

“ Criminals  guilty  of  extraordinary  offences,  as 
robbery  attended  with  murder,  arson,  rape,  break- 
ing into  fortifications,  highway  robbery,  and  piracy, 
may  be  immediately  beheaded  without  reference  ” 
to  the  Throne.  “ In  ordinary  cases  the  executions 
are  postponed  till  the  autumnal  assizes,  when  the 
Emperor  revises  and  confirms  the  sentences  of 
the  provincial  governors.”  1 

There  are  two  modes  of  capital  punishment — 
decapitation  and  strangulation.  Strangling  is  con- 
sidered the  less  disgraceful  ; so  much  so,  that 
1 Williams,  i.  p.  512. 

120 


Torture 


when  an  official  is  deemed  worthy  of  death  it 
is  an  act  of  clemency  for  the  Emperor  to  send 
him  a silken  cord,  wherewith  he  may  execute  the 
law  privately  on  himself,  and  avoid  a public  death 
at  the  hands  of  the  public  executioner. 

There  is  a bit  of  untamed  savagery  in  human 
nature  which  asserts  itself  if  the  opportunity  is 
given  it.  This  savagery  found  vent  under  the 
name  of  religion  in  the  Inquisition  ; under  the 
name  of  the  conservation  of  order  it  appears  in 
the  most  disorderly  manner  in  a Russian 
“ pogrom  ” ; in  the  name  of  justice,  in  the  most 
unjust  proceedings  of  an  American  lynching  ; in 
the  name  of  an  elucidation  of  the  truth,  in  the 
torture  of  a Russian  police  cell,  or  a Chinese  court 
of  justice  or  prison. 

Human  nature  is  the  same  the  wide  world  over, 
and  if  the  savage  man  has  not  his  worse  animal 
traits  of  character  tamed  by  the  beneficent  effects 
of  religion,  calmed  by  self-control  and  a supreme 
regard  for  justice  in  all  its  aspects,  the  result 
is  disastrous  to  his  fellow-men  should  he  have  or 
usurp  authority  over  them.  They  all  serve  to  show 
— whether  they  be  Russian  “ pogroms,”  Turkish 
massacres,  American  lynchings,  Roman  Catholic 
Inquisitions,  English  mob  riots — how  little  a high 
degree  of  material  civilisation  really  avails  under 
certain  conditions  to  restrain  the  primitive  passions, 
even  of  the  higher  races. 

Torture  in  China  is  legal  or  illegal.  The 
bamboo  leads  the  way — the  bamboo,  universal  in 


121 


Law  and  Order 


a land  which  might  be  termed  The  Land  of  the 
Bamboo.  Our  thumbscrew  of  old  is  replaced  by 
finger-squeezers  and  ankle-squeezers.  The  illegal 
tortures,  some  of  which,  if  not  all,  are  winked  at 
by  those  high  in  authority,  are  numerous,  and 
show  to  what  refinement  of  cruelty  men’s  coarse 
nature  can  descend,  when  once  mercy  goes  by 
the  board. 

There  are  indications  that  even  legal  torture 
will  soon  be  illegal  in  this  land,  which  is  desirous 
of  really  taking  her  place  properly  amongst  the 
foremost  nations  of  the  world.  Edicts  have  been 
issued  against  the  practice,  and  doubtless  it  will 
be  a thing  of  the  past  ere  long. 

Why  is  it  done  in  the  name  of  justice? 
Because  the  prisoner  must  confess  his  guilt — a 
fiction  of  the  law  in  China  ; therefore  torture  must 
be  resorted  to  to  extort  the  confession.  The  wit- 
nesses will  not  tell  the  truth  ; then  physical  pain 
and  mental  anguish  will  force  it  out  of  their  lips. 
So  the  courts  resound  with  blows  and  agonised 
groans  and  cries,  and  thus  out  of  disorder  order 
of  a kind  is  evolved.  Truth  is  thus  supposed  to 
grow  amongst  thorns  and  brambles  ; but  can 
Eschol  clusters  be  thus  obtained?  The  magistrate 
or  judge  has  to  do  the  best  he  can — and  what  can 
he  do?  The  Chinaman’s  mouth  is  full  of  lies — 
the  East  produces  lies  in  abundance,  as  well  as 
some  truth. 

The  Chinese  are  a law-abiding  people.  Crime 
is  not  rife  amongst  them,  all  things  being  taken 

122 


Local  Self-Government 


into  consideration.  Indigent  circumstances,  the 
starvation  point — these  are  the  chief  incentives  to 
theft.  The  rapacity  of  bad  officials  is  a very 
cogent  reason  in  their  eyes  for  rebellion,  and  a 
resort  to  its  concomitant  crimes  and  evils.  Bad 
feeling,  except  in  the  case  of  clan  fights,  gener- 
ally finds  relief  in  a storm  of  words  ; angry 
passions  find  vent  in  noisy  talk,  and  the  situation 
is  relieved.  With  the  Chinaman,  expression 
apparently  relieves  passion,  and  the  storm  of 
words  calms  the  overwrought  feelings.  With  the 
Englishman  the  altercation  often  ends  in  a fight  ; 
the  outpourings  of  taunts  and  reproaches  only  leads 
to  assault  and  battery. 

To  a considerable  extent — though  parliamentary 
life  is  but  just  beginning — and  therefore  in  a 
different  way  than  in  the  West,  the  Chinese  rule 
themselves.  The  elders  in  a village,  acknowledged 
by  the  powers  that  be,  have  a considerable  amount 
of  power  in  their  hands.  Petty  cases  of  theft, 
even  in  cities,  are  dealt  with  without  recourse  to 
the  courts.  A not  uncommon  punishment  for  this 
crime  is  the  whipping  through  the  streets.  Here 
we  have  again  a counterpart  of  flogging  at  a cart’s 
tail  which  some  of  our  parents  have  seen  in  our 
own  land.  The  stocks,  too,  of  which  relics  are 
still  standing  in  some  of  our  villages,  have  their 
equivalent  in  the  wooden  collar,  which,  however, 
is  more  like  the  pillory  of  our  own  past  times. 
Within  this  square  collar  of  wood  the  criminal  is 
unable  to  feed  himself,  and  has  to  endure  the  dis- 

123 


Law  and  Order 


comfort  and  ignominy  of  it  often  at  the  roadside. 
This  cangue,  as  it  is  called,  has  been  found  an 
excellent  deterrent  in  our  own  colony  of  Hong 
Kong,  as  a punishment  for  theft  and  other  minor 
offences.  And  here  let  it  be  remarked  that  a 
Chinese  mode  of  dealing  with  Chinese  is  often 
more  effectual  than  our  present  up-to-date  Western 
methods. 

Let  us  apply  an  Eastern  aphorism  to  an  Eastern 
condition  of  affairs  ; for  it  was  well  said  that  you 
could  not  put  new  wine  into  old  bottles.  After  all, 
in  a land  which,  from  an  Eastern  standpoint,  is 
law-abiding  and  orderly,  an  immense  amount  of 
disorderliness  abounds  and  rampantly  asserts  itself, 
looked  at  from  a Western  point  of  view. 

If  one  were  to  take  note  of  the  constant  reports 
of  rebellion,  the  country  would  seem  to  be  in  a 
state  of  chronic  rebellion.  Little  ebullitions  are 
springing  up  every  now  and  then  here  and  there  all 
over  the  country  ; no  sooner  does  one  appear  to  be 
quieted  in  one  quarter  when  another  seems  to  raise 
its  head  in  another  part  of  the  empire.  There  have 
been  some  of  gigantic  proportions,  such,  for 
instance,  as  the  great  Tai  Ping  rebellion,  which 
shocked  the  whole  world.  This,  though  born  in 
the  southern  provinces  of  China,  swept  over  the 
whole  of  the  central  portion  and  located  itself  in 
the  ancient  capital  city  of  Nanking  for  seventeen 
years  (1850-67).  The  movement  began  under 
the  leadership  of  a visionary,  who,  assimilating 
some  of  the  truths  of  Christianity,  and  aided  by 

124 


The  Taiping  Rebellion 

the  dreams  of  a disordered  mind,  developed  a 
political  religion,  which  empowered  him  to  rule 
over  China,  and  drive  the  hated  Manchu  from  the 
throne  of  his  forefathers. 

At  one  time  it  really  looked  as  if  this  would  be 
accomplished.  At  first  the  utmost  discipline 
appears  to  have  been  kept  ; but  round  his  standard 
and  the  nucleus  of  earnest,  religious  visionaries, 
a horde  of  riff-raff  gathered,  and  the  leader  soon 
failed  to  show  his  right  to  take  the  crown  from 
the  foreign  rulers  of  his  country. 

This  insurrection  changed  the  fertile  garden  into 
a desert.  The  people  were  ground  between  the 
two  forces,  as  between  an  upper  and  nether  mill- 
stone. The  city  of  Hankow  was  taken  six  times 
by  the  rebels  in  the  course  of  thirty  months.  An 
attempt  was  made  to  reach  Peking,  but  it  failed. 
Ruthless  conflicts  occurred,  in  which  the  unoffend- 
ing inhabitants  of  the  country  suffered  the  horrors 
of  civil  war  without  any  of  the  ameliorating  con- 
comitants of  such  events  in  the  West.  Bloodshed 
and  massacre  ruled  supreme  throughout  five 
immense  provinces  ; seventy  thousand  inhabitants 
perished  in  the  city  of  Hangchau  alone.  Shanghai 
would  have  been  taken  but  that  the  foreign 
residents  in  that  city  protected  it. 

The  recruits  to  the  ranks  of  the  insurgents,  as 
time  went  on,  were  mainly  conquered  natives,  who 
were  forced  to  join  them,  and  who  found  them- 
selves between  the  frying-pan  and  the  fire,  as  under 
these  circumstances  they  were  considered  by  the 

125 


Law  and  Order 


Imperialists  to  be  rebels,  and,  if  taken,  were 
beheaded  offhand.  In  fact,  it  seems  that  some,  at 
all  events,  were  branded  on  the  cheeks  by  the 
rebels  when  thus  conscripted  into  their  ranks,  so 
that  escape  was  utterly  impossible  ; for  they  dared 
not  show  themselves  again  in  their  own  homes  or 
amongst  their  own  people,  with  their  apparent 
guilt  plainly  proclaimed  on  their  faces.  Untold 
horrors  were  inflicted  on  the  people  by  both  forces. 

The  movement  rapidly  degenerated  after  the 
unsuccessful  endeavour  to  reach  Peking.  There 
were  dissensions  amongst  the  leaders,  though  the 
new  military  commanders  seemed  to  have  the  spirit 
of  the  first  leaders.  Eventually  this  gigantic 
revolution  was  killed  by  the  aid  of  the  foreigners, 
of  whom,  as  leader,  General  Gordon  was  the  most 
conspicuous. 

Thus  ended  one  of  the  most  disastrous  rebellions 
that  China  has  ever  known,  and  her  history  is  full 
of  such  events.  The  population  of  China  was 
kept  down  within  its  present  limits  by  these  awful 
massacres  of  innocent  and  guilty  alike  ; for  city 
after  city  was  made  a pile  of  ruins,  and  its 
inhabitants  put  to  the  sword.  After  the  recapture 
of  Nanking  three  days  and  three  nights  were  spent 
in  the  massacre  of  its  inhabitants  by  the 
Imperialists,  and  fourteen  years  after  this  city  still 
lay  in  ruins.  As  another  instance  the  case  of 
Chang  Chow,  in  Fokien,  may  be  mentioned,  where 
from  six  to  seven  hundred  thousand  men  were 
killed  by  the  rebels  or  perished  by  disease. 

126 


Quelling  Rebellions 

Of  a different  class  are  the  Mohammedan  rebel- 
lions, of  which  there  have  been  several  serious 
ones  during  the  last  two  or  three  centuries  in 
China.  The  one  in  the  north-west  and  the  one  in 
the  south-west  during  the  last  century  were  most 
awful.  They  were  fought  with  the  greatest  deter- 
mination on  the  part  of  the  rebels,  and  in  all 
these  cases  extermination  seems  to  have  been  the 
rule  on  both  sides. 

With  a rebellion  in  China  two  methods  can  be 
adopted  : the  leaders  of  the  outburst  may  be 

bought  over  and  made  mandarins,  if  the  promise 
made  to  them  to  induce  them  to  put  down  their 
arms  is  kept.  If  such  is  the  case,  they  bring  over 
with  them  their  followers.  The  other  alternative 
is  extermination  of  all — man,  woman,  and  child — 
and  the  razing  of  all  the  dwelling-houses  to  the 
ground.  To  understand  what  war  in  China  is,  we 
must  again  go  back  to  the  Middle  Ages  in  Europe 
to  find  its  counterpart.  War  at  all  times  is  savage, 
but  in  the  East  it  is  savage  with  a vengeance. 
Had  the  Mohammedan  rebellion  in  the  north-west 
not  been  put  down,  its  followers  in  their  fanatical 
zeal  would  have  exterminated  all  who  were  not 
of  their  belief.  To  what  extent  it  spread  is  not 
known,  but  it  was  very  serious  in  its  character, 
as  also  was  that  in  the  Yunnan  province.  It  must 
be  noted  that  the  latter  was  not  due  to  religion. 
In  China  the  sword  is  not  used  by  the  Moham- 
medan as  a medium  of  converting  the  heathen  to 
his  faith. 


127 


Law  and  Order 


In  addition  to  these  convulsions,  which  almost 
shook  the  Empire  to  its  very  centre,  there  are 
little  rebellions  which,  owing  to  the  inability  or 
corruption  of  the  mandarins,  are  allowed  to  spread 
and  increase  in  power  and  strength,  till  what  might 
by  just  dealing  and  a vigorous  system  of  repression 
have  been  avoided  or  overcome,  is  allowed  to  gain 
head  until  matters  become  serious. 

Added  to  all  this  there  are  clan  fights  in  some 
parts  of  the  country,  where  for  years  a species  of 
vendetta  is  carried  on  between  different  villages, 
which  at  times  almost  rises  to  the  magnitude  or 
dignity  of  small  civil  wars,  when  troops  have  to 
be  sent  to  put  an  end  to  the  strife. 

An  outbreak  of  another  nature  was  known  as 
the  Boxer  rising.  Its  most  prominent  features 
were  the  massacre  of  missionaries  and  native 
Christians,  and  the  siege  of  the  Legations  in 
Peking. 


128 


CHAPTER  XI 


The  Diverse  Tongues  of  John 
Chinaman 

HOUGH  they  are  not  so  diverse  in  nationality 


as  some  congeries  of  people  that  call  them- 
selves by  the  name  of  a nation,  yet  there  has  been 
a conglomeration  of  diverse  elements  amongst  the 
Chinese.  Why  is  such  a fuss  made  about  purity 
of  blood?  Is  it  because  like  rainbow  gold  it  is 
nowhere  to  be  found?  With  a nation  like  the 
Chinese  it  is  nearer  of  attainment  than  with  a 
composite  people  like  ourselves — an  amalgam  of 
Briton  and  Saxon  and  Dane  and  Norman,  to 
reduce  it  to  its  very  simplest  elements. 

Nor  are  the  Chinese  separated  into  such  a 
multiplicity  of  races  and  tribes  and  peoples  as 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Indian  Empire,  with  their 
ninety  languages  and  nine  hundred  dialects,  though 
in  the  latter  respect  they  are  in  the  running,  but 
somewhat  behind  ; for  they  speak  with  cloven 
tongues,  which  help  to  render  the  cleavage  more 
intense  between  different  sections  of  the  country. 


129 


Diverse  Tongues 


The  Chinaman  has  not  an  easy  aptitude  for 
learning  to  speak  in  other  tongues,  with  their 
variations  in  tone  as  well  as  their  different 
cadences  of  accent.  The  best  school  for  a 
Chinaman  to  learn  Chinese  as  spoken  by  his 
fellow-countrymen  a few  hundreds  of  miles  from 
where  he  himself  lives  is  out  of  China.  Let  him 
be  born  in  Singapore  or  the  Straits  Settlements, 
or  thereabouts,  in  a world  where  he  may  lisp  his 
baby-talk  in  as  many  Chinese  languages  as  he  has 
fingers  on  one  hand,  while  he  may  take  into  count 
the  fingers  of  the  other  hand  with  soft  Malay 
and  more  robust  English,  and  any  other  stray 
speech  that  may  come  across  his  way.  It  is 
curious  to  see  how  awkwardly  a Chinaman 
splutters,  in  his  attempts  to  pronounce  what  to 
him  is  virtually  a strange  tongue,  even  if  it  be  one 
spoken  within  the  borders  of  his  own  land.  Again, 
if  the  average  Englishman  has  a difficulty  in 
learning  to  speak  Chinese  properly,  the  Chinese 
have  equal  difficulty  in  learning  to  speak  our 
language,  so  bristling  is  it  with  difficulties  of  mood 
and  tense  and  number  and  person  and  case  and 
comparison,  to  say  nothing  of  accent  and  voca- 
bulary and  pronunciation. 

Now  let  it  be  clearly  understood  that  Mandarin 
is  not  the  language  of  China,  though  some  people 
who  ought  to  know  better  think  and  say  so.  It 
is  true  that  Mandarin  is  the  language  spoken  in 
Peking  ; and  a kind  of  Mandarin  is  the  language 
of  Nanking.  A Mandarin  of  another  kind  is 

130 


Mandarin  and  Pekingese 


spoken  in  the  extreme  west.  Possibly  some  other 
Mandarin  of  sufficient  distinctive  importance,  and 
considerably  different  from  those  already  known  to 
the  sinologue  may  yet  be  separated  out  from  the 
others,  and  attain  the  honour  of  having  dictionaries, 
grammars,  and  word-  and  phrase-books  and 
various  vade-mecums  prepared  for  it  by  the  in- 
dustrious and  inquisitive  foreign  student  in  this 
Land  of  Many  Speeches  and  Tongues. 

Mandarin  in  some  form  is  spoken  in  fifteen 
provinces  out  of  the  eighteen.  All  officials  of  any 
position  are  supposed  to  speak  Pekingese,  as  it 
would  be  impossible  for  an  official  to  learn  a 
dozen  languages  in  the  course  of  his  career,  ill- 
equipped  as  he  is  for  the  task  by  nature,  by  books, 
or  by  assistance  of  any  kind,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  months  or  years  of  inaction,  should  the  new 
incumbents  of  the  recently  filled  posts  have  to 
learn  to  speak  another  variety  of  their  own  tongue. 
Pekingese  thus  forms  the  lingua  franca  of  the 
higher  officials  and  their  entourage.  To  deal  with 
the  millions  of  those  under  their  rule  interpreters 
have  to  be  employed,  if  any  verbal  communications 
are  to  pass  between  those  who  govern  and  the 
governed  : so  that  in  court  or  elsewhere  these 
interpreters  are  the  media  for  the  transmission  of 
the  evidence,  the  statements,  the  decisions,  &c., 
unless  the  populace  be  a Mandarin-speaking  one. 
There  may  be  some  fifty  millions  in  China,  or 
even  more,  to  whom  Pekingese  is  a strange 
language.  How  many  more  there  may  be  who  are 

131 


Diverse  Tongues 

supposed  to  be  Mandarin-speakers,  but  whose  dia- 
lect of  that  tongue  is  so  different  from  the  standard 
of  the  metropolis  as  to  render  it  difficult  for  their 
rulers  to  understand  what  they  say,  it  is  impossible 
to  even  form  a guess.  It  has  been  said  above 
that  Pekingese  is  supposed  to  be  spoken  by  the 
higher  officials  ; but  many  a one  so  mixes  up 
his  own  particular  form  of  Mandarin  with  the 
outward  veneer  of  a badly  acquired  Pekingese 
that  till  one  gets  acquainted  with  his  peculiar  and 
atrocious  pronunciation  or  peculiar  tones  his 
language  is  not  easily  intelligible. 

Most  ardent  theatre-goers  pick  up  a smattering 
of  Southern  Mandarin  or  Nankingese.  Even  in 
so-called  Mandarin-speaking  districts  the  people 
have  a lingo  of  their  own,  which  is  not  under- 
stood by  those  who  have  not  made  a special  study 
of  it. 

In  South-Eastern  China,  extending  even  to  the 
central  coast-wise  portion  of  the  land,  there  are 
languages  quite  different  from  Mandarin,  millions 
upon  millions  of  the  speakers  of  which  know  no 
other  language  but  their  own.  These  languages 
are  carried  abroad  by  their  speakers  to  our 
colonies,  so  that  the  complex  problem  of  Chinese 
all  speaking  languages  and  dialects  differing  from 
one  another  confronts  our  cadets  and  officials,  in 
their  endeavours  to  reach  the  governed  in  their 
own  tongues.  In  the  Straits  Settlements  there  are 
Chinese  from  Canton,  from  Amoy,  from  Swatow, 
from  Hainan,  and  there  are  Hakkas.  It  is  possible 

132 


A FEMALE  ACROBAT 


Diversity  and  Unity 

there  may  be  some  from  the  cities  of  Foochow,  or 
Shanghai,  or  Ningpo,  or  even  other  places.  Out 
of  the  eight  places  named  above,  five  or  six  arc 
so  distinct  in  their  speech  from  each  other  that 
those  who  come  from  one  of  them  cannot  under- 
stand those  from  the  others.  Of  the  remaining 

places,  though  the  speech  is  dissimilar,  yet  the 
dwellers  in  one  might  understand  one  from  one 

or  two  of  the  other  places,  but  not  from  the 

other  spots.  This  method  of  stating  the  case  may 
serve  to  show  that  these  languages  are  as  distinct 
as  European  tongues,  though  at  the  same  time 
there  is  a bond  of  union  running  through  all,  in 
a similarity  of  structure  and  a resemblance  of  form. 
If  one  may  use  the  simile,  they  are  all  built  up  on 
the  same  order  of  architecture,  but  though  the 
main  features  are,  on  a cursory  glance,  the  same, 
yet  such  a variety  of  individual  differences  and 
outside  influences  have  Teen  brought  to  bear  in 
some  cases  as  to  alter  largely  the  apparent 
similitude. 

Most,  if  not  all  of  these,  are  of  more  ancient 
origin  than  the  Mandarin,  and,  as  proof  of  this, 
traces  of  older  times  of  one  kind  and  another  are 
found  in  them.  While  a change  more  or  less 
pronounced  has  taken  place  in  all  of  them  from 
their  remote  antiquity,  as  compared  with  the 
Mandarin,  they  are  more  conservative  in  their 
forms  than  the  Northern  Mandarin  (of  Peking) 
has  proved  itself  to  be  in  its  proximity  to  the 
Tartar  speeches  of  the  north. 

133 


K 


Diverse  Tongues 

The  importance  of  the  languages  has  been  lost 
sight  of  by  the  name  “ dialect  ” being  wrongly 
applied  to  them.  This  misuse  of  the  term  leaves 
no  word  to  describe  the  dialects,  which  are  so 
numerous  as  to  have  been  said  to  equal  in  number 
the  days  in  the  year.  In  some  parts  of  the  country 
these  are  so  many  in  number  as  to  allow  at  least 
many  a district  (county)  to  have  one  of  its  own. 
These  dialects  are  again  subdivided  into  sub- 
dialects, and  the  subdivison  goes  on  till  at  last 
even  a city  will  have  two  or  three  local  pecu- 
liarities in  speech  between  its  suburbs,  and 
between  them  and  the  area  within  the  walls 
itself. 

In  the  city  of  Canton,  for  instance,  the  language 
spoken  in  the  west  end  differs  in  some  slight 
respects  from  that  spoken  in  the  southern  suburbs, 
and  again,  inside  a part  of  the  Old  City  (as 
the  most  ancient  part  of  the  city  is  called) 
the  language  is,  on  account  of  the  banner -men 
and  some  Mandarin-speakers,  corrupted  with  an 
infusion  of  Mandarin  ; while  again  that  of  the 
Ho  Nam  suburb  differs  in  some  respects  from 
that  of  some  other  portions  of  the  city.  That  of 
the  western  suburbs  is  the  standard  of  correct 
pronunciation  for  the  greater  part  of  the  province 
— in  fact,  the  Cantonese  which  is  respected  by 
some  20,000,000  or  more  of  people.  The 
language  used  by  some  of  the  country  districts 
not  a hundred  miles  from  Canton,  is  the  native 
tongue  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dwellers  in 

134 


Linguistic  Barriers 

city,  town,  and  village,  and  is  unintelligible  without 
study  to  the  cultured  Canton  city  resident. 

As  an  instance  of  how  it  is  impossible  for  the 
native  of  one  part  of  China  to  understand  one 
from  another  district,  I may  call  attention  to  the 
curious  sight,  often  seen  in  Hong  Kong,  of  an  amah 
(nurse  in  a foreign  family)  brought  from,  say, 
the  north  of  China,  conversing  with  another  servant 
belonging  to  the  Colony,  not  in  their  own  native 
tongue,  but  in  Pidgin-English,  as  otherwise  they 
could  not  understand  each  other.  Still  more 
common  is  it  in  the  courts  of  justice  in  that 
Colony  to  see  an  Englishman  interpreting  what 
one  Chinaman  says  to  another  Chinaman,  both 
living  in  the  Colony,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the 
foreigner  in  this  case  has  learned  two  or  more  of 
the  Chinese  languages,  while  the  Chinese  in  ques- 
tion only  know  one  each — that  into  which  they 
were  born,  if  one  may  so  put  it — and  have  never 
learned  that  of  the  other  Chinaman,  and  so  each 
is  indebted  to  a foreigner  to  learn  what  their 
own  countryman  is  saying. 

Conditioned  by  his  surroundings  and  his  loca- 
tion, and  the  different  influences  which  have  come 
into  play  upon  him  and  his  language,  the  divers 
tongues  of  the  Chinaman  differ  in  their  charac- 
teristics. The  Mandarin  abounds  in  “ r' s,”  and, 
though  they  are  not  rolled  round  the  tongue  as  a 
Scotchman  likes  to  enunciate  them,  yet  they  are 
not  entirely  lost  sight  of.  The  r is  not  found  in 
the  speech  of  the  South  of  China.  The  Cantonese 

i35 


Diverse  Tongues 

is  a soft  and  pleasant  speech,  while  the  Mandarin 
is  more  like  the  German  with  its  force  of  utter- 
ance, as  compared  to  the  Italian  sounds  of  the 
Cantonese.  The  Hakka  is  a half-way  house 
between  the  Mandarin  and  the  Cantonese.  In  the 
Swatow,  nasal  sounds  are  largely  employed  ; and 
in  the  singing  of  hymns  this  has  an  extraordinary 
effect,  as  the  voices  hush  into  a mere  nose  or  lip 
production  of  sound.  In  Amoy  these  nasal  sounds 
also  prevail  extensively,  and  in  these  two  languages 
the  b is  known,  though  unknown  in  the  greater 
part  of  the  southern  districts  ; while  in  Shanghai, 
Ningpo,  and  slightly  in  the  Hakka,  v is  used,  w 
taking  its  place  elsewhere.  The  tendency  of  the 
Mandarin  has  been  to  drop  the  letters  p,  t,  and 
k , when  at  the  end  of  words,  with  the  result  of 
a more  slurring  effect  in  speaking,  compared  with 
the  more  distinct  utterance  of  the  southerners. 

The  tones  give  a musical  cadence  to  the 
language,  and  this  is  more  pronounced  in  the 
south,  where  there  are  twice,  if  not  thrice,  the 
number  of  these  tones  in  use,  as  compared  with 
the  north.  Each  word  is  relegated  to  that  tone 
in  the  scheme  of  tones  to  which  it  belongs,  and 
in  which  it  must  be  spoken.  The  meaning  of 
a word  may  vary  with  the  tone  in  which  it  is 
uttered.  A musical  note  will  generally  explain 
much  of  what  tones  are,  though  there  are  other 
factors  in  their  production.  There  are  level- 
sustained  tones,  dying-away  tones,  rising  tones, 
falling  tones,  abrupt  tones,  long  tones,  and  short 

136 


Tones  and  Accents 


tones  ; in  addition  there  are  also  crescendo  and 
diminuendo  effects. 

It  would  be  very  interesting  to  know  why  there 
are  all  these  different  sets  of  tones,  perhaps  some 
hundreds  of  them,  differing  more  or  less,  used  over 
China,  and  why  more  tones  are  used  in  some  parts 
than  in  others.  One  language  in  China  will  be 
content  with  five  or  six  tones  while  another  will 
not  stop  short  of  fifteen  or  sixteen.  It  may  be 
possible  that  all  languages  were  tonic  originally  : 
some  are  inclined  to  think  thai  this  was  the  case. 
The  language  of  all  babies  the  world  over  is  tonic  ; 
for  an  infant  when  learning  to  speak  always  says 
the  words  he  learns  in  the  same  tone  he  has  learned 
them  in,  till  he  finds  that  grown-up  people,  except 
in  the  Far  East,  have  discarded  tones.  Accent 
in  English  is  not  tone,  though  accent  in  English 
can  often  be  used  to  represent  Chinese  tones.  The 
Chinese  employ  accent  as  well. 

One  tonic  system,  it  will  be  gathered  from  the 
above,  does  not  suffice  for  the  whole  of  China, 
with  its  numerous  different  languages  and  speeches. 
So  after  one  has  learned  the  words  in  one  language 
of  Chinese,  and  how  to  pronounce  them  aright, 
and  the  correct  tone,  the  foreigner  or  native,  if 
he  takes  up  the  study  of  another  Chinese  language, 
has  to  learn  different  tones  for  his  new  language, 
as  well  as  learn  new  words,  new  idioms,  and  new 
accents.  Again,  a word  may  have  besides  its 
primary  tone  a secondary  or  variant  tone,  only 
to  be  used  in  certain  combinations,  or  to  express 

137 


Diverse  Tongues 


different  meanings  from  what  the  word  in  its 
primary  tone  stands  for.  This,  to  the  foreign 
student  of  the  language,  seems  confusion  worse 
confounded. 

These  variant  tones  differ  again  in  their  use 
and  application  in  the  different  languages,  and 
also  in  the  different  dialects  to  some  extent.  In 
the  Swatow,  every  word  in  each  sentence  or 
clause,  except  the  last  one  or  two,  must  change 
into  its  other,  or  variant  tone.  In  Cantonese  the 
definition  of  them  given  earlier  applies.  In 

Hankow  and  Mandarin  there  are  said  to  be  none, 
though  in  the  latter  the  author  has  reason  to  believe 
that  if  special  study  were  given,  a discovery  of 
them  might  be  made,  as  well  as  their  method  of 
use. 

The  Middle  dialects,  as  they  are  called— those 
of  Shanghai  and  Ningpo — have  the  medial  vowels 
in  words  developed  into  diphthongs  to  a larger 
extent  than  elsewhere. 

All  the  languages  in  China  agree  in  the 
elimination  of  superfluous  words  in  a sentence,  as 
regarded  from  the  Chinese  standpoint,  to  the  utter 
confusion  of  the  European  learner  or  speaker.  In 
a few  instances  in  English  we  do  condescend  to 
a very  simple  style  of  speaking— a style  which  the 
Chinese  use  to  a very  large  extent.  For  instance, 
we  say  simply,  “ Come,”  when  we  mean  “ Come 
here,”  or  “ Come  to  me.”  The  Chinese  says  in 
this  same  way,  to  cite  one  example,  keeoo,  or 
keeoo  loh,  when  the  loll  means  nothing  translat- 
es 


Calculated  Brevity 

able  into  English,  but  shows  that  a precise  state- 
ment is  being  made.  The  keeoo  is  the  important 
word,  and  that  means  simply  “ called,”  but  the 
Chinaman  to  whom  it  is  addressed  understands 
what  the  speaker  means,  which  is,  ‘‘You  are 
called,”  or  “ Some  one  is  calling  you.”  The  object 
is  left  out  in  a sentence  when  it  is  perfectly  well 
understood  what  is  referred  to.  For  example,  a 
father  with  us,  seeing  his  child  not  eating  his 
porridge  at  breakfast,  might  say  to  him,  “ Are 
you  not  eating  it?  ” but  a Chinese  father  in  a 
similar  case  would  only  say,  “ You  not  eating?  ” 
The  “ it  ” is  understood,  and  is  not  used,  unless 
there  is  a particular  necessity  to  call  attention 
to  this  one  thing  in  contradistinction  to  other 
things. 

This  principle  runs  through  the  whole  language. 
The  Chinese  prefers  to  save  his  breath  and  words. 
In  Chinese,  again,  there  are  practically  no  moods, 
tenses,  numbers,  or  persons,  if  looked  at  from 
the  standpoint  of  a European  language.  Of  course 
there  are  means  of  showing  these,  when  it  is 
necessary — necessary,  that  is  to  say,  from  the 
Chinese  point  of  view,  which  is  very  different  from 
our  conception  of  what  is  necessary  in  language. 
There  is  thus  a terseness  and  a simplicity  in  the 
language,  which  tend  to  its  beauty,  and,  when 
attention  is  paid  to  the  context,  the  confusion  which 
might  otherwise  arise  is  avoided.  A logical 
sequence  is  often  apparent  in  the  dependence  of 
the  sentences,  which  is  lost  sight  of  in  the  com- 

139 


Diverse  Tongues 

plexity  of  our  Western  sentences,  burdened  as  they 
are  also  with  all  the  intricacies  of  moods,  and  the 
incidental  prepositions  and  conjunctions,  omitted 
in  Chinese  to  a large  extent. 

John  Chinaman  is  again  a survival  of  the 
Middle  Ages  in  the  manner  of  using  his  tongue. 
He  clings  to  the  past,  and  this  style,  as  far  as  the 
language  is  concerned,  is  based  on,  nay  is  identical 
with,  that  of  hundreds  or  even  thousands  of  years 
ago.  If  it  can  be  supposed  that  every  book  written 
in  England  were  written  in  the  language  of 
Chaucer  or  Piers  Plowman,  some  idea  might 
be  got  of  how  the  book-language  differs  from 
the  common  speech.  If  we  remember  the  feeling 
of  our  forefathers,  when  it  was  proposed  to  put 
the  Bible  into  English  which  would  be  under- 
stood by  every  one,  and  recall  how  at  that  time 
our  own  language  was  considered  to  be  too  low 
and  vulgar  to  be  used  for  books — then  some 
idea  of  the  attitude  of  Chinese  scholars  towards 
their  own  beautiful  spoken  language  may  be 
understood. 

So  accustomed  have  they  become  to  the  well- 
balanced  periods  of  the  written  language,  so 
entranced  are  they  with  its  beauties,  so  immersed 
have  they  become  in  the  overflowing  floods  of  their 
literature,  that  what  is  difficult  for  the  men  or 
women  who  are  not  the  bookworms  they  are  is 
simplicity  to  them.  Moreover,  they  imbue  those 
they  instruct  with  their  own  views,  so  that  not 
only  do  their  own  people  follow  in  their  steps, 

140 


Letters  and  Learners 


but  the  foreigner,  shut  up  in  his  study  with  them 
to  learn  their  language,  affects  their  ways  and 
imbibes  their  opinions,  to  the  detriment  of  his 
spoken  speech.  For  it  rarely  happens  that  a 
foreigner  in  China  who  goes  in  largely  for  this 
comparatively  dead  language — the  book -language 
— becomes  proficient  in  the  spoken  language  of 
the  people.  The  one  stultifies  the  other,  in  the 
case  of  the  foreigner,  so  that  to  master  either 
requires  almost  a life-study. 

This  accounts  for  much  of  the  illiteracy  in 
China  ; for  to  master  the  dead  language  of  the 
books  is  a task  often  beyond  the  power  or  time 
allowed  the  poor  boy.  Most  of  the  books  are 
locked  up  in  this  dead  speech,  and  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  full  comprehension  of  those  who  have 
not  received  a thoroughly  good  education — and 
such  an  education  is  not  within  the  reach  of  an 
immense  number  of  the  people.  It  is  impossible  to 
say  how  many. 

The  number  of  the  educated  and  of  the  illiterate, 
or  of  the  partly  educated,  differs  widely  in  different 
parts  of  the  land  and  in  town  and  country.  With 
the  labouring  classes,  who  may  be  earning  only 
a bare  subsistence,  the  boys  either  go  without 
learning  to  read,  or,  if  it  be  possible  to  send  them 
to  school,  their  schooling  ends  when  they  have 
received  but  a smattering.  If  a year  or  two  at 
school  does  little  for  an  English  boy  whose  books 
are  written  in  almost  a colloquial  style,  it  may 
be  estimated  how  very  much  less  they  do  for  a 

141 


Diverse  Tongues 

Chinese  youth,  whose  books  are  to  him  so  difficult. 
It  is  as  if  an  English  infant  class  were  taught  to 
read  English  from  the  first  four  Books  of  Euclid. 

Fortunately  there  are  indications  of  a widespread 
change  taking  place.  The  new  school  books  are 
now  modelled  on  the  plan  of  the  Western  school 
books,  and  in  time  the  language  employed  will 
doubtless  be  still  more  simplified.  Further,  the 
new  movements  in  China  are  awakening  the  people 
to  the  use  of  the  living  tongue,  and  as  a result 
one  or  two  of  the  newspapers  are  employing  it  to 
a slight  extent. 

The  foreign  element  does  not  appear  so  largely 
in  Chinese  as  in  our  own  language.  Buddhism 
with  its  idolatry  is  perhaps  responsible  for  the 
largest  imported  portion.  The  genius  of  the 
Chinese  language,  a little  like  the  German  in  this 
respect,  is  to  assimilate  the  new  idea,  and  clothe 
it  in  some  expressive  term  in  their  own  language. 
Thus  a steamer  is  a “ fire-ship.” 

Notwithstanding  this,  those  who  have  delved 
amongst  its  different  languages  or  dialects  with 
this  object  in  view,  have  discovered  after  all  not 
a few  foreign  imported  words.  One  language  or 
another  has  contributed  a word  or  two  or  more,  as 
the  case  may  be.  As  an  illustration  we  may 
instance  the  word  toto,  in  use  in  the  Macao  dialect, 
and  derived  from  the  Portuguese,  who  have  been 
domiciled  in  Macao  for  more  than  three  centuries. 
Other  words  are  more  difficult  to  trace,  and  require 
some  ingenuity  at  times  to  fix  on  their  origin  and 

142 


Borrowed  Words 


source.  The  Arabic  original  is  seen  in  apeen, 
for  opium.  In  Amoy  satpan  is  used  for  soap,  an 
imported  article  in  China  originally,  though  they 
are  now  beginning  to  manufacture  it  for  them- 
selves. This  last  word  is  derived  from  the  Spanish. 


143 


CHAPTER  XII 


The  Drug : Foreign  Dirt 

MUCH  strong  language  has  been  used  on  both 
sides  in  regard  to  the  opium  question; 
but  the  Chinese  themselves  have  but  one  opinion 
on  it. 

As  for  the  foreigner  in  China,  many  have  ex- 
pressed the  strongest  opinions,  when  their  ignor- 
ance on  the  subject  was  only  commensurate  with 
the  strength  of  their  statements.  Some  of  these 
who  are  not  qualified  to  form  a judgment  at  all 
on  the  subject  not  only  give  voice  to  their  views 
ex  cathedra,  but  stigmatise  as  fanatics  all  who 
hold  an  opposite  view  to  their  own.  But  the 
matter  is  now  passing  out  of  range  of  discussion 
by  the  non-Chinese;  for  the  whole  nation  is 
expressing  in  no  measured  terms  its  decision  on 
the  question.  This  attitude  of  the  Chinese — not 
taken  up  by  the  Government  alone,  but  by  the 
people  as  well  as  by  the  ruling  powers — is  one  of 
the  most  hopeful  signs  in  the  advance  of  China. 

The  opium  habit  is  of  but  recent  origin.  There 
is  nothing  to  show  that  the  juice  of  the  poppy 

144 


A Modern  Vice 


was  valued  in  China  for  anything  but  its  medicinal 
properties  a couple  of  hundred  years  ago.  In  fact, 
the  proof  is  all  the  other  way.  It  cannot  be 
supposed  for  a moment  that,  had  the  vice  been 
one  known  in  this  land  before  its  introduction  from 
abroad,  it  would  not  have  been  mentioned  by 
Chinese  writers.  There  is  besides  a perfect  silence 
on  the  matter  by  mediaeval  travellers  who  visited 
the  Far  Orient,  for  the  simple  reason  that  there 
was  a complete  absence  of  material  in  that  con- 
nection to  write  on.  Had  it  been  largely  in  use, 
doubtless  the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  would 
have  had  something  to  say  about  it. 

The  reference  to  opium  by  the  writer  of  the 
Chinese  Herbal  two  centuries  ago,  says  it  was 
“ formerly  but  little  known,”  and  his  description  of 
it  “ leads  to  the  inference  that  it  was  then  used 
in  medicine.” 

It  was  the  Portuguese  who  mostly  engaged  in  the 
trade  at  first,  and  its  importation  only  reached  a 
thousand  chests  in  1767.  Six  years  later  the  East 
India  Company  “ made  a small  adventure  ” in  it, 
and  seven  years  later  “ a depot  of  two  small  vessels 
was  established  by  the  English.”  A cargo  of  1,600 
chests  sold  to  one  of  the  old  Hong  merchants 
eventually  found  its  way  to  the  Eastern  Archi- 
pelago, as  the  traders  could  not  command  a 
sufficient  price  in  China.  In  1791  opium  was 
imported  “ under  the  head  of  medicine.”  The 
Chinese  authorities  began  to  complain  in  1793  ; 
and  then  started  the  long  opposition  against  its 

i45 


The  Drug:  Foreign  Dirt 


introduction,  stultified  to  a large  extent  by  the 
readiness  of  those  in  authority  to  accept  bribes 
and  close  their  eyes  to  its  smuggling,  while  our 
own  countrymen,  overpowered  by  the  desire  to 
make  fortunes  and  retire  to  a life  of  ease  in 
England  or  America,  connived  at  it,  and  fostered 
the  trade  carried  on  by  smuggling. 

It  seems  strange  that  greed  should  so  close  the 
eyes  of  respected  and  otherwise  honourable  men  to 
the  nefariousness  of  engaging  in  such  an  underhand 
trade.  Unfortunately,  the  Chinese  Government 
officials  objected  to  all  trade  with  the  hated 
foreigner,  and  this  may  have  helped  to  gloss  over 
the  iniquity  of  the  particular  trade.  It  is  a sad 
spectacle  “ of  power,  habit,  skill,  and  money  all 
combining  to  weaken  and  overpower  the  feeble, 
desultory  resistance  of  a pagan  and  ignorant 
people  against  the  progress  of  what  they  knew  was 
destroying  them.  The  finality  of  such  a struggle 
could  hardly  be  doubted,  and  when  the  tariff  of 
1858  allowed  opium  to  enter  by  the  payment  of 
a duty,  the  already  enfeebled  moral  resistance 
seemed  to  die  out  with  the  extinction  of  the 
smuggling  trade  in  opium.”  1 

With  the  ennobling  power  of  a Christian  civilisa- 
tion infused  into  her  veins,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
China,  now  that  she  has  roused  herself,  will  not 
rest  content  till  the  good  work  she  has  commenced 
be  carried  to  a glorious  issue,  and  the  youth  of 
that  country  be  saved  from  the  debilitating  effects 
' Williams,  ii.  p.  380. 

146 


The  Smoker’s  Struggle 


of  the  destructive  body-ruining,  mind-enfeebling, 
and  soul-blasting  drug.  Those  who  argue  that 
such  are  not  its  effects  are  woefully  ignorant  of 
the  inner  life  of  the  Chinese. 

They  look  at  the  surface  of  Chinese  life  only, 
and  when  they  see  a brisk  and  active  compradore, 
who  acknowledges  that  he  is  a smoker,  and  has 
smoked  for  years,  they  seem  incapable  of  taking 
all  the  influences  and  facts  into  their  minds.  They 
do  not  see  him  when  he  craves  for  the  drug  that 
is  life  and  death  to  him,  and  are  unaware  how 
entirely  he  is  dependent  on  it;  nor  do  they  know 
that  he  has  probably  just  primed  himself  up  with 
the  stimulant  upon  which  he  depends  for  his 
apparent  vigour.  His  accounts  are  kept  by  his 
underlings,  of  whom,  in  all  probability,  he  has 
a large  staff,  bound  to  him  by  the  ties  of  clan- 
ship, whom  he  can  trust,  and  over  whom,  more 
Sinico,  he  has  an  iron  grip:  his  work  accordingly 
can  run  on,  whilst  he  lies  for  hours  at  his  smoking. 

The  European  employer  does  not  see  his 
servant  in  his  hours  of  depression,  nor  does  he 
know  that  he  is  trying  with  all  the  power  left  in 
him  not  to  exceed  the  daily  allowance  he  has  fixed 
upon  as  the  utmost  limit  he  dare  venture  on.  He 
does  not  realise  what  a struggle  is  going  on  in 
the  fight  not  to  be  overcome  in  the  losing  game, 
and  that  his  employee  is  stubbornly  trying  his  best 
to  hold  his  own  with  the  overwhelming  force 
against  him.  The  victim  tries  to  fortify  himself 
against  the  inroads  of  the  unsatisfied  and  un- 

i47 


The  Drug  : Foreign  Dirt 

satisfying  drug,  attempting  to  hold  the  craving 
in  check,  and  trying  to  build  up  his  frame  by  tonic 
and  strengthening  foods.  Even  if  he  be  a man 
of  iron  will,  the  combat  is  slowly  telling  against 
him,  and  any  traces  of  its  effects  observed  on  his 
face  are  put  down  to  ill-health. 

The  opium-sot  (save  when  his  wealth  has  been 
sufficiently  large  to  enable  him  to  maintain  the 
drain  on  his  resources)  gradually  sinks  in  the  social 
scale,  unless  friends  or  relatives  support  him.  His 
vice  has  unfitted  him  for  toil,  as  half,  or  more,  of 
the  night  spent  in  smoking  does  not  prepare  for 
a day  of  work.  He  rises  at  noon,  enfeebled  and 
unfit  for  any  exertion  till  “ a hair  of  the  dog  that 
bit  him  ” causes  his  exhausted  energies  to  flicker 
up  for  a brief  period.  Often  without  the  means 
to  procure  sufficient  food  and  clothing,  he  is  a 
pitiable  object  to  all,  and  is  called  an  opium- 
devil  by  his  own  countrymen.  Such  a man  is 
not  likely  to  remain  in  the  busy  centres  of  com- 
merce, such  as  Hong  Kong  or  Shanghai.  He 
naturally  gravitates  to  his  home  in  the  country, 
where  he  may  obtain  some  assistance  from 
friends.  He  slinks  away  from  observation,  and  at 
last  sinks  into  a dishonoured  grave. 

The  so-called  opium  wars,  it  must  in  justice 
be  said,  would,  with  the  arrogance  of  the  man- 
darins and  the  determination  of  the  English  to 
trade,  have  taken  place — opium  or  no  opium — 
sooner  or  later.  Opium  was  not  the  sole,  though 
it  was  a great  contributory,  reason  for  them. 

148 


A Mistaken  Policy 

The  Chinaman,  while  taking  the  drug,  hated 
the  Englishman  for  bringing  it  to  his  shores, 
and  much  of  the  ill-feeling  against  the  foreigner 
was  due  to  the  trade.  For  the  Chinaman  reasoned 
no  one  could  be  good  who  sold  such  a poison, 
to  the  ruin  of  his  countrymen. 

The  trade  drifted  years  ago  into  the  hands  of 
Parsees  and  Indians,  and  Englishmen  in  the  Far 
East  became  the  mere  carriers  to  China  and  up 
and  down  the  coast,  though  in  India  the  Govern- 
ment fostered  its  growth,  and  derived  a large 
share  of  the  revenue  by  its  cultivation.  The 
financial  difficulty  has  been  the  stumbling-block 
to  its  abolition ; and  it  is  this  consideration  which 
prevents  the  foreign  resident  in  China  from  seeing 
the  patent  evils  of  the  trade  and  consumption  of 
opium.  But  when  the  Chinese  themselves  are 
willing  to  lose  money  by  its  cessation,  and  to 
subscribe  to  further  its  extinction,  this  single 
fact  is  a guarantee  of  their  good  faith  in  the 
matter. 

The  average  foreign  resident  in  China  has 
grown  suspicious  of  the  Chinese  attitude  on  the 
question,  owing  to  the  Chinese  line  of  action  in 
the  past.  He  doubted  the  Chinaman’s  intention, 
when  the  Chinese  Government  fostered  the  ex- 
tended growth  of  native  opium  in  the  Empire  itself 
(till  nearly  every  province  grew  it),  with  the 
ostensible  (as  he  considered  it  merely  to  be)  object 
of  killing  the  foreign  consumption.  This  accom- 
plished, the  Chinese  Government  said  they  could 

149  L 


The  Drug  : Foreign  Dirt 


easily  prohibit  the  native  growth,  and  thus 
extinguish  the  whole  trade  and  evil. 

There  is  now,  however,  no  reason  to  doubt  the 
Chinese  bona  fides.  The  whole  nation  is  roused, 
or  rousing  itself  against  it;  it  is  not  official  action 
only  that  is  being  taken.  Though  smoking  officials 
may  be  here  and  there  lax — and  it  is  well-nigh 
impossible  to  have  laws  obeyed  at  once  through- 
out the  length  and  breadth  of  such  an  immense 
Oriental  empire — yet  degradation  and  even  death 
have  resulted  to  some  of  the  smoking  mandarins. 
Given  time,  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  whole 
Empire  will  respond  to  the  lead  of  the  better- 
minded  of  its  people  and  the  mandates  of  those 
in  authority.  China  is  being  stirred  to  her  depths 
in  this  crusade  against  this  potent  evil:  she  feels 
she  must  do,  or  die.  Her  position  was  in  the 
van  of  the  Eastern  world  (the  whole  world,  as 
far  as  the  East  was  concerned)  for  many  centuries. 
She  was  the  leader  of  the  world’s  progress: 
civilisation,  letters,  light,  and  knowledge,  all  these 
emanated  from  her. 

But  as  the  West  came  into  her  purview  of  late 
years,  she  has  found  that  she  was  deposed  from 
her  exalted  position.  Though  blind! v,  arrogantly, 
stubbornly  trying  to  hold  to  the  pa^t,  she  found 
herself  unable  to  cope  with  the  despised  Western 
barbarian.  Bits  of  her  territory  were  stripped  from 
her  by  different  foreign  nations  all  down  her  coast- 
line, while  an  immense  territory  was  taken  in  the 
north.  This  she  resolved  should  not  go  on. 

*5° 


Repentance 


In  her  time  of  abasement,  an  insignificant  island 
kingdom,  whose  inhabitants  she  looked  down 
upon  as  little  monkeys — a people  who  had  learned 
much  in  the  past  from  her,  but  after  being  her 
pupils  had  eagerly  imbibed  knowledge  from  the 
West — this  people,  strengthened  by  the  Christian 
civilisation  of  the  West  grafted  on  to  the  valour 
of  a sea-bound  nation,  had  blocked  the  waves  of 
aggression  from  the  West,  and  withstood  boldly 
the  advance  of  an  absorbing  power,  beating  a 
Western  foe  back.  This  little  insignificant  race 
set  its  face  against  opium,  and  forbade  its  use, 
determined  to  exterminate  it,  even  in  Formosa,  by 
repressive  measures.  All  this  was  an  object-lesson 
to  the  Chinese.  They  had  at  the  same  time  been 
prepared  by  a century  of  missionary  labour 
amongst  them,  which,  while  it  instructed  them  in 
the  tenets  of  Christianity,  spread  broadcast  over 
the  land  modern  knowledge  and  science  in 
the  thousands  of  books  issued  by  the  various 
Religious  Tract  Societies  together  with  the  mission 
presses. 

It  is  a grand  and  noble  spectacle  to  see  a once 
effete  Eastern  nation  shaking  the  dust  of  abasement 
from  her  feet  and  rising  with  new  vigour,  born 
of  the  day  of  enlightenment,  to  again  take  her 
place  amongst  the  comity  of  nations  of  God’s 
glorious  world. 

A Nemesis  threatens  the  foreigner  who  has 
introduced  the  baleful  drug  in  such  large  quan- 
tities into  China,  for  it  appears  that  not  a few 

!5i 


The  Drug  : Foreign  Dirt 


Americans  have  learned  to  take  it  from  the  Chinese 
smokers  resident  amongst  them.  A fear  of  its 
effects  on  their  own  people  both  at  home  and 
abroad  in  the  Philippines  resulted  in  the  initiation 
of  the  international  opium  convention  in  Shanghai. 
Its  actions  and  resolutions  will  no  doubt  strengthen 
the  crusade  against  opium-smoking  and  its  sister 
vice,  the  hypodermic  injection  of  morphia. 

It  would  seem  to  the  ordinary  individual  that  the 
past  attempts  to  discount  by  elaborate  treatises  on 
the  chemical  constituents  of  the  smoke,  &c.,  the 
evil  effects  of  the  smoking  of  opium,  are  of  little 
practical  value  to  those  who  try  to  argue  that 
opium-smoking  is  harmless.  For  one  sees  that 
the  opium-smoker  can  have  his  cravings  satisfied 
with  morphia  injected  into  his  system  or  taken 
in  pills,  by  the  dross  of  smoked  opium,  and  even 
the  ashes  of  the  drug  taken  in  water. 

“ Opium  imparts  no  benefit  to  the  smoker, 
impairs  his  bodily  vigour,  beclouds  his  mind,  and 
unfits  him  for  his  station  in  society  ; he  is  miserable 
without  it,  and  at  last  dies  by  what  he  lives  upon.” 
It  is  like  “ raising  the  wick  of  a lamp,  which,  while 
it  increases  the  blaze,  hastens  the  exhaustion  of 
the  oil  and  the  extinction  of  the  light.”  “ When 
the  smoking  commences,  the  man  becomes 
loquacious,  and  breaks  out  into  boisterous,  silly 
merriment,  which  gradually  changes  to  a vacant 
paleness  and  shrinking  of  the  features,  as  the 
quantity  ” smoked  “ increases  and  the  narcotic  acts. 
A deep  sleep  supervenes,  from  half  an  hour  to 

i52 


The  Smoker’s  Limit 


three  or  four  hours’  duration,  during  which  the 
pulse  becomes  slower,  softer,  and  smaller  than 
before  the  debauch.  No  refreshment  is  felt  from 
this  sleep,  when  the  person  has  become  a victim 
to  the  habit,  but  a universal  sinking  of  the  powers 
of  the  body  and  mind  is  experienced,  and  com- 
plete recklessness  of  all  consequences,  if  only  the 
craving  for  more  can  be  appeased. 

“ A novice  is  content  with  one  or  two  whiffs, 
which  produce  vertigo,  nausea,  and  headache, 
though  practice  enables  him  to  gradually  increase 
the  quantity.”  So-called  “ ‘ temperate  smokers,’ 
warned  by  the  sad  example  of  numerous  victims 
around  them,  endeavour  to  keep  within  bounds, 
and  walk  as  near  the  precipice  as  they  can,  without 
falling  over  into  hopeless  ruin.  In  order  to  do 
this,  they  limit  themselves  to  a certain  quantity 
daily,  and  take  it  at  or  soon  after  meals,  so  that 
the  stomach  may  not  be  so  much  weakened.”  Such 
an  one  “ can  seldom  exceed  a mace  weight,  or 
about  as  much  of  prepared  opium  as  will  balance  ” 
a franc  piece  ; “ this  quantity  will  fill  twelve  pipes. 
Two  mace  weight  taken  daily  is  considered  an 
immoderate  dose,  which  few  can  bear  for  any 
length  of  time ; and  those  who  are  afraid  of  the 
effects  of  the  drug  upon  themselves  endeavour  not 
to  exceed  a mace.  Some  persons  who  have  strong 
constitutions  and  stronger  resolution,  continue  the 
use  of  the  drug  within  these  limits  for  many  years, 
without  disastrous  effects  upon  their  health  and 
spirits,  though  most  of  even  these  moderate  smokers 

T53 


The  Drug : Foreign  Dirt 


are  so  much  the  slaves  of  the  habit  that  they  feel 
too  wretched,  nerveless,  and  imbecile  to  go  on 
with  their  business  without  the  stimulus.”  1 

“ An  insupportable  languor  throughout  the 
whole  frame  ” is  the  continual  legacy  of  the  opium- 
smoker,  and  he  is  in  utter  misery  when  the  usual 
times  for  taking  the  drug  arrive  if  he  cannot  obtain 
it  on  the  instant.  He  is  restless,  wretched,  and  the 
craving  completely  unnerves  and  overpowers  him. 
The  author’s  experience,  with  witnesses  in  the 
witness-box,  for  more  than  a score  of  years,  led 
him  to  detest  the  sight  of  a heavy  opium-smoker, 
prepared,  or  rather  unprepared,  to  give  evidence 
in  English  courts  of  justice.  Under  such  circum- 
stances, the  greatest  difficulty  was  experienced  in 
the  attempt  to  obtain  statements  that  were  clear, 
lucid,  and  truthful.  The  guile  of  the  devil  mixed 
with  the  slyness  of  an  impaired  mind,  which,  in 
abject  fear  of  giving  away  his  case,  caused  the 
drug-taker  to  prevaricate  and  contradict  himself, 
thus  rendering  it  difficult  to  obtain  a succinct  and 
clear  account  of  any  intricate  and  involved  action. 
An  opium-smoker  is  not  a rampant  ruffian,  as  the 
drunkard  is  when  under  the  effects  of  his  potations. 
He  does  not  murder  his  wife;  but  he  kills  her  by 
slow  degrees,  or  pawns  or  sells  her.  He  does  not 
go  reeling  through  the  streets,  a danger  to  himself 
and  others  ; but  the  effects  of  his  vice  are  as  bad, 
if  not  worse,  in  the  long  run. 

Statistics  which  try  to  prove  that  the  number 
1 Williams,  ii.  pp.  382,  383. 

154 


Statistics  Unreliable 


of  confirmed  smokers  is  less  than  what  is  generally 
well  known  to  be  the  case,  based  on  a certain 
consumption  by  the  individual  smoker,  are  founded 
on  assumptions,  and  ignore  a number  of  factors. 
It  is  not  a certain  fixed  quantity  of  the  drug  taken 
by  an  individual  which  should  form  the  basis  of 
calculation;  for  it  is  a well-known  fact  to  any 
one  acquainted  with  medicines  that  different  con- 
stitutions are  differently  affected  by  drugs;  some 
persons  are  easily  influenced  by  doses  that  would 
have  little  effect  on  others.  Let  us  take  what  is 
more  patent  to  most  persons.  How  ridiculous 
it  would  seem  to  fix  on  a certain  amount  of  beer, 
and  then  divide  the  consumption  of  beer  in  the 
country  by  this  quantity,  and  say  that  such  a per- 
centage of  English  were  habitual  drunkards ! One 
man  is  drunk  with  an  amount  that  would  not  affect 
another  man’s*  brains ; one  man  can  habitually  take 
a number  of  glasses  a day  which  would  com- 
pletely upset  another. 

To  be  reckoned  in  the  question  as  factors  are 
the  physique  of  the  smokers,  and  the  financial 
position  of  those  who  indulge  this  expensive  vice. 
Another  element  that  must  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion is  that  the  drug  has  less  power  on  one  who 
is  well  nourished  and  who  has  ample  means  to 
buy  food  to  sustain  his  body  against  the  inroads 
of  the  drug. 

To  be  perfectly  sure  of  the  percentage  in  a 
given  population,  a census  would  be  required,  and 
as  that  at  present  is  well-nigh  impossible,  estimates 

i55 


The  Drug  : Foreign  Dirt 

made  by  those  who  are  well  qualified  to  judge 
are  the  most  reliable  means  of  ascertaining  the 
number,  instead  of  procuring  statistics  to  bolster 
up  preconceived  notions  on  the  subject.  No 
Chinaman,  unless  he  is  directly  interested  in  mini- 
mising the  results  of  opium-smoking,  will  give  such 
a low  estimate  as  has  been  furnished  from  foreign 
sources,  to  attempt  to  show  that  the  drug  is  not  so 
bad  in  its  effects  as  the  people  themselves  and 
those  who  have  lived  amongst  them  know  to  be 
the  case. 

But,  after  all,  suppose  that  statistics — which  can 
prove  anything  required — are  reliable,  even  when 
the  advocates  of  the  non-abolition  of  opium  have 
reduced  them  to  such  low  figures  as  they  delight 
to  do — even  i per  cent.,  to  which  scarce  one  has 
yet  had  the  temerity  to  bring  them  down — even 
i per  cent,  of  confirmed  opium-smokers  in  China 
would  make  a total  of  4,260,000,  the  population 
of  a small  state  in  Europe  (nearly  the  population 
of  Norway  and  Sweden),  and  roughly  a tenth  of 
the  population  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  Is 
such  a number  not  appalling  enough  to  all  who 
really  know  what  a confirmed  opium-smoker  is  ? 

But  some  statistics  are  so  manipulated  as  to  give 
us  double  this  number,  viz.,  8,520,000.  Even 
then  this  is  not  the  very  darkest  shade  of  a picture 
so  dark  that  no  ray  of  hope  illumines  it.  For  this 
state  of  confirmed  opium-smoking,  to  which  the 
majority  of  those  who  indulge  in  opium  in  China 
are  surely  tending,  represents  but  a small  propor- 

156 


A Nucleus  of  Sots 


tion  of  the  evil  inherent  in  and  surrounding  this 
fascinating  indulgence.  Around  this  nucleus  of 
opium  sots  are  the  beginners  who  are,  as  a rule, 
starting  on  a downward  course  from  which  to  the 
majority  there  is  no  retreat.  And  still  more 
direful,  if  possible,  is  the  vast  fringe  of  those  who 
are  dragged  down  into  misery  and  ruin  by  the 
indulgence  of  father,  or  son,  or  husband,  or  rela- 
tive— the  poor  wives,  the  suffering  children,  the 
broken-hearted  fathers  and  mothers,  and  all  the 
rest  who  are  affected  in  a greater  or  lesser 
degree. 

The  Chinese  themselves — and  who  are  better 
able  to  judge  than  the  people  themselves  as  to 
the  cancer  in  their  body  social  and  politic?— would 
scarcely  determine  to  overthrow  the  fell  and  deadly 
habit,  were  it  of  such  insignificance  as  apologists 
attempt  to  make  out. 


i57 


CHAPTER  XIII 


What  John  Chinaman  Eats  and 
Drinks 

O begin  with,  John  Chinaman’s  diet  is  not 


rats  and  cats  and  mice  and  puppy-dog 
bones,  though  more  of  these  may  be  consumed 
within  the  confines  of  the  vast  Empire  than  in 
other  parts  of  the  earth’s  dominions.  He  might 
retort  that  the  exclusive  diet  of  the  Englishman 
was  jugged  hare  and  blood.  He  does  not  live, 
like  the  Englishman,  on  bacon  and  eggs,  or  like 
the  American,  on  pork  and  beans,  or  like  the 
Frenchman,  on  pot  au  feu  or  bouillon,  or  like  the 
German,  on  raw  beefsteak  and  sauerkaut,  or  like 
the  Italian,  on  macaroni.  Pork  and  salt  fish  and 
rice  and  vegetables — at  all  events  in  the  south — 
are  his  chief  dishes  ; whilst  sharks’  fins  and  the 
gelatinous  birds’  nests  are  the  turtle-soup  and 
venison  of  the  gourmand. 

Each  nation  has  its  own  conception  of  what 
constitutes  a meal.  John  Bull  likes  solid  sub- 
stances, rashers  of  bacon  with  eggs,  or  big  joints 
that  he  can  see,  and  off  which  he  can  cut  juicy 


158 


SHANGHAI  : FOREIGN  MARKET. 


EATING  RICE. 


The  Staple  Food 


slices,  and  come  again  to,  and  yet  again,  to  stay 
his  hearty  appetite.  Jacques  Bonhomme  likes 
dainty  little  morsels  dished  up  in  a tasty  manner, 
or  the  family  pot  au  feu.  Guiseppe  Mencarini 
enjoys  his  long  strings  of  macaroni,  which  he  cuts 
off  at  his  mouth  as  he  gobbles  them  down.  Hans 
Breitmann  loads  his  tables  with  substantial  dishes, 
and  has  some  fruit  with  almost  every  joint  of 
meat. 

John  Chinaman,  for  his  part,  thinks  it  barbarous 
to  bring  big  joints  to  the  table  and  cut  them  up 
like  a butcher — knives  are  for  the  kitchen,  not 
the  dining-room  ; they  are  kitchen  furniture,  not 
table  decorations — nor  does  he  believe  in  slices  of 
roast  and  boiled,  even  when  served  a la  Russe. 

The  substantial  portion  of  the  ordinary  meal 
consists,  in  the  south,  of  bowls  of  rice,  usually 
steamed  well,  so  that  each  grain  is  thoroughly 
cooked,  and  does  not  stick  to  the  next  grain.  It 
is,  when  prepared  in  this  method,  placed  in  an 
earthenware  shallow  vessel  standing  in  a pan  of 
water,  and  a lid  covers  it  while  cooking.  The 
rule  is  to  put  sufficient  water  into  the  vessel  con- 
taining the  rice  barely  to  cover  the  open  hand 
when  laid  on  the  rice.  Rice  is  also  often  cooked 
in  a shallow  earthen  pan,  in  like  manner.  With 
the  poor  man,  a mere  taste  of  fish,  fresh  or  salt, 
and  a little  fresh  or  salt  vegetable,  is  all  that 
appears  on  his  humble  board.  There  is  soy, 
perhaps,  and  it  may  be  bean-curd  in  some  form 
or  other,  possibly  some  salted  olives  occasionally. 

159 


What  John  Chinaman  Eats 


The  vegetables  and  fish  are  fried  in  peanut  oil, 
the  taste  of  which  the  foreigner  cannot,  as  a rule, 
stomach.  No  salt,  or  pepper,  or  mustard,  or 
vinegar  appears  on  the  table.  No  water  is  drunk, 
but  some  tea  is  often  poured  into  the  bowl  from 
which  the  rice  has  been  eaten,  to  finish  up  with. 
There  is  but  the  one  course  amongst  the  lower 
classes  of  society.  The  wife  is  not  supposed,  by 
the  strict  rules  of  propriety,  to  eat  with  her 
husband  ; but  a family  party  surrounds  the  board 
amongst  the  lower  classes,  and  the  boat  people 
squat  down  on  their  deck  round  the  food. 

Amongst  shopkeepers  the  whole  of  the  employees 
sit  down  at  the  same  table  and  eat  together — 
master,  accountant,  shopman,  apprentice,  and  cook, 
the  last  two  often  being  combined  in  one  person. 
The  rice-bowls  having  been  filled  with  a copper 
ladle  from  the  basket  or  bucket  holding  the  rice 
just  brought  in  from  the  kitchen,  the  bowls 
are  raised  to  the  mouth  in  the  left  hand  and  rested 
on  or  near  the  under-lip,  while  with  the  right 
hand  the  rice  is  shovelled  into  the  mouth  with 
the  two  chopsticks  held  parallel  to  each  other. 
These  are  two  pieces  of  ivory,  bone,  wood,  or 
bamboo,  rather  longer  than  a lead-pencil,  and  not 
quite  so  large  in  body.  They  are  held  between  the 
thumb  and  two  or  three  fingers  of  the  right  hand, 
with  the  second  finger  slightly  protruding  between 
them. 

This  mode  of  grasping  them  allows  free  play  ; 
for  besides  using  them  to  push  quantities  of  rice 

160 


Use  of  the  Chopsticks 


from  the  bowl  into  the  mouth,  they  can  be  em- 
ployed as  a pair  of  tongs  to  lift  up,  from  the 
centre  of  the  table,  the  meat  and  vegetables  which 
are  already  cut  into  pieces  and  quantities  suitable 
to  be  thus  picked  up.  Each  one  at  his  will  does 
this,  either  transferring  the  modicum  selected  at 
once  to  the  mouth,  or  laying  it  on  the  rice  in 
the  bowl,  to  be  more  leisurely  taken,  or  shovelled 
in  with  the  rice.  The  chopsticks  are  most 
dexterously  used,  and,  if  the  piece  of  meat  is 
rather  large,  can  hold  it  while  a portion  is  bitten 
off  it  ; the  remainder  is  then  laid  on  the  top  of 
the  rice  for  future  use.  It  is  wonderful  how 
their  owners  can  do  just  what  they  choose  with 
these  seemingly  rude  and  ill-adapted  implements — 
now  breaking  off  a bit  of  fish  from  the  common  dish 
on  the  table,  now  dipping  some  morsel  in  the  small 
dish  of  soy,  and  then  making  a predatory  expedi- 
tion to  the  dish  of  vegetables,  from  which  a suffi- 
cient quantity  is  transferred  to  the  bowl  to  serve 
for  several  mouthfuls  of  rice.  Spice  and  variety 
are  lent  to  the  meal  by  these  constant  raids.  The 
utmost  good-humour  prevails  as  the  results  are 
appropriated,  and  quarrels  do  not  result.  This 
process  is  continued  all  through  the  meal  by  each 
one  round  the  table.  It  is  considered  polite  Jo 
keep  more  or  less  to  your  side  of  the  dish  in  taking 
these  continual  helpings. 

It  is  hoped  that  these  explicit  explanations  will 
clear  away  the  misapprehension  on  this  subject 
with  many  ; for  the  ordinary  Englishman  believes 

161 


What  John  Chinaman  Eats 


that  in  some  mysterious  manner,  inexplicable  to 
ordinary  mortals,  the  Chinaman  uses  his  chop- 
sticks apparently  somewhat  in  the  manner  of  the 
ghoul  in  the  Arabian  Nights,  who  ate  her  meal, 
consisting  of  “ a few  grains  of  rice,  with  a 
toothpick.” 

In  the  south,  pork  is  the  meat,  and  so  universal 
and  constant  is  its  use  that  the  word  for  meat 
in  the  Amoy  language,  bach  (pronounced  like  the 
name  of  the  musician),  means  pork. 

It  may  be  gathered  from  what  has  been  said 
that  made-up  dishes  are  the  rule.  The  Chinese 
are  very  fond  of  soups  and  slops.  When  wanting 
a snack  of  something,  a very  common  thing  to 
take  is  a dish  of  congee  (rice  gruel).  At  a formal 
dinner  party,  which  is  generally  at  a restaurant, 
the  food,  to  our  foreign  tastes,  seems  all  sloppy. 
Course  after  course  of  bowls  of  birds’-nest  soup, 
sharks’  fins,  quails  cut  up  in  portions,  crabs,  and 
numerous  other  dishes,  is  brought  in  singly  or 
in  sets  of  four  or  eight.  Rice  in  such  a case 
does  not  appear  till  the  end  of  the  feast.  Porce- 
lain spoons,  of  most  primitive  shape,  are  supplied 
for  the  more  liquid  dishes,  and  wire  toy  forks  to 
lift  the  candied  fruits,  &c. 

One  feels,  after  these  grand  Chinese  dinners, 
as  if  one  had  eaten  to  repletion,  even  if  only 
a tasting  is  taken  of  each  dish.  Long  before  the 
dinner  is  through  even  this  has  to  be  given  up  ; 
but  with  it  all  there  is  yet  an  unsatisfied  feeling 
of  wanting  what  the  Americans  would  call  “ a 

162 


Table  Courtesies 

good  square  meal,”  so  unused  are  we  to  this  style 
of  feeding. 

While  the  guests  are  gathering  together  in  the 
restaurant  where  such  repasts  are  held,  the 
attendants  bring  in  cups  of  tea  about  the  size  of 
large  coffee-cups  with  covers  on,  a sufficiency  of 
tea-leaves  being  put  into  every  cup  to  make  a 
brew  for  each.  Each  person  has  thus  a cup  of 
tea  infused  specially  for  himself.  The  waiter 
writes  each  person’s  name  on  the  cover  of  the 
cup  intended  for  him,  and  as  each  circulates  about 
the  room,  chatting  to  host  or  other  guest,  the 
cup  is  brought  round  after  each  and  placed  at  the 
side  of  or  near  to  the  individual  to  whom  it  belongs 
and  replenished  whenever  necessary. 

The  Chinese  are  very  fond  of  splitting  melon- 
seeds  between  the  teeth  (this  is  rather  difficult 
of  achievement  to  those  unaccustomed  to  it),  eject- 
ing the  shells  and  eating  the  kernels,  which  are 
rather  pleasant  to  the  taste  ; but  the  ordinary 
European  does  not  find  the  toil  worth  the  result, 
though  the  Russian,  who  has  the  same  custom, 
is  an  adept  at  it. 

The  author  finds  a formal  Chinese  dinner  once 
in  twenty  years  is  sufficient.  As  a reason  for  this, 
some  of  the  customs  which  prevail  at  the  table  may 
be  stated.  It  is  considered  politeness  to  offer 
another  at  the  table  a titbit  with  one’s  own  chop- 
sticks, picking  it  out  from  one  of  the  dishes  on 
the  table.  It  will  be  understood  that  in  the  act 
of  eating,  the  chopsticks,  like  our  forks,  touch 

163 


What  John  Chinaman  Eats 


the  lips,  or  enter  the  mouths  ; so,  even  without 
this  display  of  friendship,  each  one  of  the  four  or 
eight  persons  at  a table  has  dipped  his  chopsticks 
into  the  plates  of  many  of  the  comestibles  laid 
before  him. 

At  one  of  the  few  formal  Chinese  dinners  the 
author  had  the  pleasure  to  attend,  the  host,  a most 
estimable  and  distinguished  old  gentleman,  asked 
him  to  take  a second  helping  of  soup.  A large 
bowl  containing  it  stood  before  the  host.  There 
was  no  soup-ladle  provided,  and  the  old  gentle- 
man, to  ensure  that  we  should  get  the  full  benefit 
of  all  the  contents  of  the  soup,  stirred  it  with  his 
own  spoon,  which  he  had  been  using  already. 
Though  others  accepted,  the  author  declined  any 
more.  Eructations  after  the  full  meal  are  not 
restrained,  and  in  hot  weather,  coats,  waistcoats, 
and  undergarments  are  discarded,  till  the  diners 
have  sometimes  nothing  left  on  them  but  a pair 
of  trousers. 

After  the  dinner  a row  of  basin-stands, 
basins,  and  towels  may  stand  ready  with  hot  water 
for  each  to  wash  in,  no  finger-bowls  being  used. 
In  place  of  serviettes,  a waiter  will  every  now 
and  then  bring  a wet  wash -rag  wrung  out  of  hot 
water  to  wipe  over  the  face  and  hands,  which  is 
very  refreshing  on  a hot  day. 

Some  of  the  Chinese  articles  of  diet  are  dainty 
and  nice  ; but  an  indiscriminate  eating  of  Chinese 
food  is  upsetting  to  an  English  stomach,  ill-pre- 
pared for  this  kind  of  fare  and  its  manner  of 

164 


Articles  of  Food 


cooking.  The  Chinese  are  not  so  particular  about 
everything  being  perfectly  fresh  as  we  are,  nor 
is  needful  care  exercised  to  ensure  purity  of  food- 
stuffs, as  sanitary  science  is  unknown.  At  the  same 
time,  John  Chinaman  is  a born  cook,  and  can  easily 
prepare  his  meals  to  his  own  taste  and  those  of 
his  comrades.  The  youngest  lad  in  a shop  is 
appointed  cook.  The  cookshops  have  a tasty  array 
of  tempting  viands  spread  out  on  the  street  front, 
and  the  peripatetic  vendors  of  dumplings  and  other 
toothsome  delights  present  a pleasing  choice  to 
the  hungry  boy  or  man. 

No  mutton  is  eaten  in  the  south,  as  sheep  do 
not  thrive  in  that  part  of  China.  A little  goat- 
flesh  is  consumed,  and  some  beef  ; venison  is 
exposed  for  sale  in  a few  shops  ; but  pork  and 
fish  are  the  staple  articles  of  diet.  Of  the  latter 
there  is  an  almost  endless  variety. 

Vegetarians  abound  in  China,  from  religious  and 
humanitarian  motives.  The  supply  of  vegetables 
is  large,  and  melons,  pumpkins,  sweet  potatoes, 
yams,  and  taro  are  much  used,  while  fruit 
abounds. 

Rats  are  eaten,  and  so  are  cats  and  dogs,  and 
even  snakes  ; but  many  a Chinese  would  not  touch 
some  or  all  of  them.  Some  of  the  poverty-stricken 
country-folk  scarcely  know  the  taste  of  meat,  and 
are  forced  to  live  mostly  on  a poor  quality  of 
rice  and  miserable  red  sweet  potatoes. 

What  is  one  man’s  meat  is  another  man’s  poison, 
and  the  Englishman’s  stomach  turns  at  the  crawl- 

165  M 


What  John  Chinaman  Eats 


ing  mass  of  rice-field  worms  that  are  hawked  about 
the  streets  for  sale.  On  the  other  hand,  the  author 
has  seen  a polite  Chinese,  when  tasting  cheese 
for  the  first  time  in  his  house,  evidently  suffer 
much  till  an  opportunity  gave  him  the  chance  of 
leaving  the  room  and  spitting  out  the,  to  -him, 
disgusting  substance. 

Milk  is  not  drunk  uncooked,  and  only  a small 
quantity  is  consumed  ; this  is  made  into  a curded 
mass  like  junket,  and  hawked  warm  about  the 
streets  at  night. 

The  Chinaman  is  not  a drunkard,  though 
drunkenness  is  to  be  found  in  the  land.  When 
drunk  he  stays  at  home  and  sleeps  off  his  potations. 
There  are  no  public-houses  tempting  him,  as  in 
England,  not  only  at  every  street  corner,  but 
between  the  corners  as  well. 

On  feast  days,  anniversaries,  new  years,  & c., 
he  is  fond  of  celebrating  the  occasion  with  his 
native  wine,  which  is  really  a spirit.  It  is  heated, 
and  drunk  out  of  very  tiny  cups,  holding  about 
a dessert -spoonful  each.  Some  drink  it  every  day 
at  dinner  ; but  these  are  they  who  are  too  fond 
of  it.  It  is  always  present  at  formal  dinners,  and 
a few  cups  of  it  soon  flush  up  the  face  of  John 
Chinaman,  who  is  easily  affected  by  alcohol. 

A common  amusement  whilst  drinking  is  to  fling 
out  the  fingers  of  one  hand  to  another  at  the 
table,  who  must  instantly  sing  out  the  words  which 
he  conjectures  represent  the  number  of  fingers 
flung  out.  If  his  guess  be  wrong,  the  one  making 

1 66 


Meals  and  Snacks 


the  mistake  must,  as  a forfeit,  drink  a cup  of  wine. 
Seated  round  the  dinner-table,  these  wine -parties 
are  noisy  affairs,  and  in  the  English  colony  of 
Hong  Kong  their  restriction  has  to  be  enforced 
by  an  ordinance  forbidding  them  after  eleven 
o’clock  at  night. 

The  Chinaman  deludes  himself  into  the  idea  that 
he  takes  only  two  meals  a day  : true,  he  has  only 
two  formal,  set  meals  each  day  ; but  he  is  always 
ready  for  a snack.  When  he  rises  at  5 or  6 a.m. 
he  has  a bowl  of  congee.  His  breakfast  is  at 
9 or  10  a.m.,  and  much  like  his  dinner,  which  is 
about  5 p.m.  ; but  at  noon  he  takes  a lunch — 
some  soup  or  cakes,  or  something  to  stay  his 
stomach.  All  day  the  cookshops  and  foodstalls 
in  the  streets,  and  hawkers  of  cakes  and  fruit, 
sweetmeats,  sugar-cane,  and  fruit  and  pickles, 
appear  to  be  in  demand.  At  night  those  whose 
business  or  pleasure  takes  them  about  patronise 
such  vendors  as  prowl  about  at  late  hours,  and 
even  those  who  stay  at  home  buy  from  them  as 
they  pass  their  doors. 

Many  of  the  foodstuffs  are  hawked  about  the 
streets.  Even  the  live  fish  is  brought  to  the  very 
doors  of  the  purchasers,  floundering  in  shallow  tubs 
of  water,  and  weighed  out  while  kicking  ; so  there 
is  no  fear  of  stale  fish,  a thing  difficult  otherwise 
to  prevent  in  a hot  climate. 

The  Chinaman  believes  in  feeding  up  while 
doing  hard  work,  and  some  of  the  boatmen,  when 
taking  their  long  voyages  up  or  down  the  mighty 

167 


What  John  Chinaman  Eats 

rivers  of  South  China  and  working  from  dewy 
morn  till  dusky  eve,  stipulate  for  five  meals  a day. 

John  Chinaman  is  now  beginning  to  indulge  in 
foreign  food.  On  the  lines  of  foreign-owned 
steamers  those  who  can  afford  it  have  a choice  of 
either  Chinese  fare  or  English,  and  not  a few 
try  the  latter.  With  the  hundreds  of  Chinese 
students  abroad  in  America  and  Europe,  it  is  not 
to  be  doubted  that  the  taste  acquired  in  our  lands 
for  our  dishes  will  be  carried  back  to  China. 

The  cooking  of  John  Chinaman’s  food  is  done 
generally  on  red  earthenware,  round  stoves,  each 
only  large  enough  to  hold  one  pot  or  pan  or  kettle, 
which  latter  often  are  also  of  coarse  grey  earthen- 
ware. These  are  thin,  and  the  substances  in  them 
are  quickly  heated.  One  would  think  economy  had 
been  one  of  the  chief  considerations  in  the  manu- 
facture of  these,  and  of  the  iron  utensils  used  in 
the  preparation  of  food  for  the  table.  For  there 
is  no  superabundance  of  metal  employed  in  the 
construction  of  the  latter,  and  thus  a double 
economy  is  effected  : less  material  is  used,  and  the 
price  is  kept  down,  and  less  resistance  is  offered 
to  the  heat  of  the  fire,  thus  less  wood  or  charcoal 
is  burned,  which  is  the  fuel  of  the  south.  For  the 
production  of  the  latter  the  whole  country,  except 
in  the  remote  interior,  has  been  denuded. 

All  the  wood  and  charcoal  is  brought  down  in 
boats  from  up-country  ; so  that  except  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  monasteries  and  at  the  backs 
of  villages  groves  are  uncommon,  though  every 

168 


Fuel 


temple,  if  possible,  has  its  banyan-tree,  and  the 
grounds  of  yarnens  are  wooded.  Iron  saucepans 
or  kettles  are  little  known,  but  iron  frying-pans 
are  in  constant  use,  to  fry  fish  and  vegetables 
and  for  many  other  purposes. 

In  the  country  fruit-trees  abound,  being  planted 
along  the  high  banks  which  protect  the  rice-fields 
from  the  river  or  divide  them  from  one  another. 
Though  wood  is  cheap,  compared  with  the  prices 
that  prevail  in  England,  yet  every  economy  is 
practised  with  regard  to  it,  none  being  wasted  ; 
every  chip  is  picked  up  (this  being  the  children’s 
task  in  poor  families),  and  not  a stick  will  be 
found  lying  about. 

Grass  is  also  used  for  fuel  by  the  poorer  classes  ; 
especially  does  this  seem  to  be  the  case  with  the 
Hakkas.  Many  of  the  girls  and  womenfolk  are 
busy  all  day  in  cutting  this  on  the  hillsides  and 
mountain -slopes.  As  evening  sets  in,  strings  of 
them  may  be  met,  wending  their  way  down  the 
steep  mountain  paths  to  their  homes  in  the  cities 
and  plains  or  valleys.  Two  enormous  bundles 
are  made  up  and  fastened  to  a pole,  one  end  of 
which  is  sometimes  sharpened,  and  this  is  thrust 
into  one  of  the  trusses.  The  pole  is  carried  across 
one  shoulder  in  the  usual  way  the  Chinese  carry 
burdens. 

This  indiscriminate  cutting  of  the  grass  is  very 
destructive  to  young  plants,  trees,  and  saplings, 
very  few  of  the  latter  being  allowed  to  grow,  for, 
cut  down  with  the  knife  of  the  grass-cutter,  they 

169 


What  John  Chinaman  Eats 


all  add  their  quota  to  the  evening  load. 
The  grass  is,  indeed,  used  for  fodder  to  some 
extent,  but  largely  for  fuel.  Hence  the  sterile 
appearance  of  mountain  ranges  in  the  south  of 
China.  In  winter  the  dry  grass  on  these  heights 
is  fired,  so  that  a richer  crop  may  result  from 
the  ashes.  This,  of  course,  is  destructive  of  plants 
and  young  trees  struggling  for  existence  against 
such  adverse  circumstances. 

On  winter  nights  one  sees  for  hours  these 
straggling  lines  of  fire  encircling  the  hills,  and 
creeping  along  like  fiery  serpents  or  dragons, 
forming  a most  picturesque  sight  in  the  darkness. 
But  the  aspect  is  a very  different  one  when,  on 
a visit  to  these  spots  in  daylight,  a blackened 
mass  of  cinders  and  charcoal  has  taken  the  place 
of  what  in  summer  would  be  luxuriant  vegetation. 
In  the  dry  winters,  when  for  weeks  and  months 
no  rain  falls  in  Southern  China,  the  long  grass 
dries  up,  till  it  looks  like  growing  hay.  This 
burning  grass  gives  off  a peculiar  odour.  It 
flares  up,  and  the  fire  has  to  be  constantly  fed. 
With  thick  iron  utensils  over  the  fires,  such  as 
are  used  in  the  West,  cooking  would  be  difficult  ; 
but  with  the  thin  pots  and  pans  we  have  already 
described  it  is  not  so. 

The  atmosphere  of  Chinese  cities  and  towns 
is  not  surcharged  with  smoke  and  soot,  nor  does 
a pall  of  darkness  in  consequence  hang  over  these 
centres  of  population.  As  yet  tall  chimneys  or 
factories  are  rare,  though  beginning  to  appear  with 

170 


Daily  Fumigation 


the  advance  of  Western  modes  of  manufacture. 
The  smoke  from  kitchen  fires  and  the  incense 
burned  twice  a day  causes  a smarting  smoke  to 
torture  the  eyes  in  the  streets  for  an  hour  or  so 
morning  and  evening.  This  daily  smoking,  com- 
bined with  the  fragrance  of  morning  and  evening 
incense,  has  doubtless  a salutary  effect  on  the 
health  of  the  city  ; for  with  the  reeking  filth  of 
the  narrow,  tortuous  streets  it  is  a wonder  that 
constant  epidemics  do  not  decimate  the  large 
populations  that  live  amidst  it  all,  apparently  un- 
affected by  their  insalubrious  surroundings. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

John  Chinaman’s  Doctors 

THE  doctor  does  not  see  John  Chinaman  into 
existence  and  assist  at  the  process,  and  so 
his  chances  of  surviving  birth  are  much  less  than 
those  of  young  John  Bull.  At  the  same  time  he 
assists  him  out  of  life,  and  perhaps  sometimes 
sooner  than  necessary  were  no  physicians  called 
in.  We  say  physicians,  for  John  Chinaman  is 
not  content  with  one  doctor  when  he  is  ilj. 

Not  that  he  has  more  than  one  at  a time,  as 
may  be  the  case  in  our  land,  when  exalted  posi- 
tion or  an  abundance  of  funds  may  make  it  usual 
for  several  physicians  to  be  in  attendance.  But 
the  Chinaman  expects  a quick  return  for  the  money 
he  expends  on  his  doctor,  or  he  looks  for  a speedy 
action  of  the  drugs  prescribed  ; for  if  the  result 
expected  is  not  immediate,  he  calls  another  doctor, 
and  yet  another,  till  the  end  he  wishes  is  attained, 
or  until  he  is  beyond  doctors’  aid. 

Some  have  thought  that  there  are  indications 
in  old  Chinese  literature  that  dissection  may  have 

172 


Early  Teaching 


been  known  in  olden  times.  This  is  perhaps  more 
than  doubtful  ; but,  at  all  events,  such  a thing 
has  not  been  thought  of  for  centuries  on  centuries. 
In  fact,  the  most  empirical  notions  are  extant  as 
to  the  organs  of  the  body  and  their  functions  ; 
but,  notwithstanding  this,  they  have  anatomical 
diagrams.  Most  grotesque  are  their  ideas  of  the 
human  frame  as  thus  depicted,  and  as  described 
in  their  medical  books,  for  Chinese  medical  writers 
have  added  their  quota  to  the  extensive  literature 
of  that  land. 

In  Wylie’s  Notes  on  Chinese  Literature , accounts 
are  given  of  some  eighty  works  under  the  heading 
of  Medical  Writers.  It  is  thought  that  several 
centuries  before  the  Christian  era  some  advance 
had  been  made  towards  a system.  There  are 
now  considered  to  be  nine  branches  of  medical 
practice  : these  are  blood-vessel  and  smallpox 

complaints,  “ fevers,  female  complaints,  cutaneous 
complaints,  cases  of  acupuncture,  eye  complaints, 
throat,  mouth,  and  teeth  complaints,  and  bone  com- 
plaints.” “ The  diseases  of  the  inferior  animals 
have  been  included,  as  a subsidiary  branch  of  the 
medical  profession,  from  the  earliest  times.” 

That  medical  knowledge  of  a kind  has  been 
in  existence  in  China  for  ages,  in  a traditional 
form  originally,  is  proved  from  the  oldest  medical 
treatise  which  is  extant  in  that  country — one  written 
at  least  several  centuries  B.C.  While  it  must  be 
remembered  that  a volume  of  a Chinese  work 
is  only  about  the  size  of  one  of  our  smaller  monthly 

173 


John  Chinaman’s  Doctors 


magazines,  yet  the  works  of  some  of  the  medical 
writers  run  to  a great  length,  as  one,  a guide 
to  therapeutics,  is  in  168  books,  containing  1,960 
discourses  on  2,175  subjects,  with  778  rules, 
21,7 39  prescriptions,  and  is  illustrated  with  239 
diagrams.  Another  (“  considered  one  of  the  most 
complete  of  its  kind”)  numbers  120  books.  Yet 
another  is  in  90  books  ; but — one  would  feel  in- 
clined to  say  fortunately  for  the  doctors — the 
majority  of  this  class  of  writers  are  content  with 
a few  volumes  each. 

The  great  Materia  Medica  is  known  throughout 
Europe  amongst  all  who  know  anything  at  all 
concerning  Chinese  literature.  It  is  in  52  books, 
and  the  author,  Lay  She-Chun,  spent  thirty  years 
in  its  compilation,  making  extracts  from  upwards 
of  800  preceding  authors,  besides  adding  to 
the  work  from  his  own  knowledge.  It  contains 
particulars  of  1,892  different  medicaments.  If 
all  this  were  not  a sufficient  proof  of  the  laborious 
and  painstaking  care  the  author  devoted  to  his 
task,  further  evidence  of  it  may  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  the  author  wrote  out  the  manuscript  three 
times  before  he  was  satisfied  to  let  it  see  the 
light  of  day. 

There  sometimes  seems  a substratum  of  truth 
in  the  Chinese  ideas  as  elaborated  in  the  native 
medical  books.  A main  idea  seems  to  be  grasped, 
and  then  buried  under  a fantastic  mass  of 
absurdities.  The  bones  are  considered  as  a sort 
of  framework  that  holds  the  body  together  ; but 

i74 


The  Pulse  as  Guide 


no  care  is  employed  to  describe  them  correctly. 
It  would  have  been  thought  that  exhumation  of 
the  skeleton  from  the  grave  (common  in  China 
for  the  purposes  of  fung-shui)  would  have  shown 
them  that  there  are  two  bones  in  the  forearm 
instead  of  one,  and  the  same  with  the  leg.  Also, 
it  would  be  thought  that  the  osteology  of  the 

different  parts  of  the  body  would  be  better  known, 
for  here  the  same  careless  nonchalance  is  dis- 

played as  to  an  accurate  enumeration  and  descrip- 
tion of  the  component  parts  of  the  bony  structure 
of  the  body.  They  have  the  most  extraordinary 
notions  as  to  the  circulation  of  the  blood  ; and 
the  pulse  is  the  stronghold  of  the  medical  prac- 
titioner. By  the  examination  of  the  pulse  the 

Chinese  doctor  considers  himself  able  to  diagnose 
the  disease  and  fix  its  locality  with  precision. 

With  this  infallible  aid  and  guide  to  ascertain 
the  seat  of  the  disease  and  the  disease  itself,  there 
is  no  need  to  hear  the  patient  describe  his  sensa- 
tions, nor  even  for  that  matter  to  see  the  patient, 
in  the  case  of  a woman,  who  may  lie  hidden  in  her 
bed  with  mosquito-net  drawn,  and  simply  put  her 
two  hands  out  through  the  curtains  for  the  doctor 
to  feel  her  pulses.  There  are  three  kinds  of  pulse 
for  each  hand,  and  each  pulse  is  distinguished 
into  heavy  and  light,  &c.,  which  serve  to  locate 
the  disorder.  The  Chinese  believe  the  beating 
of  the  pulse  alone  will  show  the  cause  and  locality 
of  the  disease. 

An  author  who  nearly  two  centuries  ago  wrote 
i75 


John  Chinaman’s  Doctors 


about  the  Chinese  thus  quaintly  describes  the 
solemn  and  important  mode  of  examining  this  dis- 
closer  of  medical  secrets  to  the  Chinese  medical 
men  : 

“ When  they  are  called  to  a sick  person,  they 
lay  his  arm  upon  a pillow,  then  place  their  four 
fingers  along  the  artery,  sometimes  gently,  and 
sometimes  hard.  They  take  some  time  to  examine 
the  beating,  and  distinguish  the  differences,  how 
imperceptible  soever,  and  according  to  the  motion, 
more  or  less  quick,  full  or  slender,  uniform  or 
irregular,  which  they  observe  with  the  greatest 
attention,  they  discover  the  cause  of  the  disease  ; 
insomuch  that,  without  asking  the  patient,  they 
tell  him  in  what  part  of  the  body  the  pain  lies, 
whether  the  head,  stomach  or  belly,  or  whether 
it  be  the  liver  or  spleen  which  is  affected.  They 
likewise  foretell  when  his  head  shall  be  easier, 
when  he  shall  recover  his  stomach,  and  when  the 
distemper  will  leave  him.”  1 

It  is  believed  by  the  Chinese  that  there  are  a 
thousand  differences  in  the  pulse,  dependent  on 
sex,  age,  stature,  and  seasons.  “ Every  season  of 
the  year  has  its  proper  pulse.”  “ In  the  spring  to 
have  the  pulse  of  the  stomach,  in  the  winter  the 
pulse  of  the  heart,  in  summer  that  of  the  lungs,  in 
autumn  that  of  the  liver,  are  all  very  bad.”  No 
wonder  that  a book  on  the  pulse  in  Chinese  says, 
“ The  examination  of  the  pulse  is  ” in  some  places 
“ very  difficult,”  andi  in  another  passage  in  the  same 
1 Du  Halde,  China,  iii.  p.  363. 

176 


The  Hot  and  Cold  Causes 


text-book,  “ We  must  take  great  care  not  to  con- 
found the  different  kinds  of  the  pulse,  which  have 
some  resemblance  between  each  other.”  It  is  like- 
wise enjoined  that  the  physician  should  be  healthy 
himself,  and  in  a state'  of  tranquillity.  A quick 
pulse  at  the  wrist  means  a pain  in  the  head  ; 
short  and  tremulous,  heartburn  ; and  so  on  page 
after  page  for  nearly  a hundred  pages  full  direc- 
tions are  given  as  to  the  actions  and  changes 
of  the  nine  pulses  and  the  reasons  for  them. 

Another  great  belief  with  the  Chinese  in  regard 
to  disease  and  medicaments  is  the  division  of  com- 
plaints into  those  produced  by  a cold  cause  and 
vice  versa , and  the  great  Materia  Medica , which 
we  have  already  mentioned,  says  in  this  con- 
nection : “ Distempers  proceeding  from  a cold 

cause  require  warm  medicines  [i.e.,  not  heated 
medicines,  but  those  supposed  to  be  of  a warm 
disposition],  and  those  which  proceed  from  a hot 
cause,  cold  medicines.”  It  is  most  amusing  to 
see  how  one’s  native  servants  are  most  particular 
about  taking  anything  one  offers  to  them,  if  ill,  as, 
for  instance,  they  will  refuse  a foreign  drug  which 
they  fancy  has  a heating  tendency  if  they  have 
malaria. 

The  two  principles  of  the  yum  and  yong,  the 
basis  of  Chinese  philosophy,  which  pervade  all 
life  and  existence,  everything  being  capable  of 
being  placed  under  the  one  or  the  other,  also 
dominate  the  whole  gamut  of  disease  ; and  ail- 
ments are  ascribed  as  due  to  a disagreement  of 

177 


John  Chinaman’s  Doctors 


these,  to  the  presence  of  bad  humours,  or  to  the 
evil  spirits,  “ and  until  these  agencies  are  corrected 
medicines  cannot  exercise  their  full  efficacy.”  As 
an  example  of  their  reasoning,  let  the  following 
suffice,  taken  from  the  same  Materia  Medica: 
“ The  upper  half  of  the  body  belongs  to  the  yong 
and  the  nature  of  heaven  ; thus  the  medicines 
suitable  to  that  part  of  the  body  are  the  head 
or  tops  of  the  plants  ; the  body  of  the  plant, 
that  is,  the  trunk,  is  for  the  diseases  of  the  middle 
cavity.  The  inward  half  of  the  body  of  man 
belongs  to  the  yum,  and  is  of  the  nature  of  the 
earth,  and  consequently  the  roots  of  the  plants 
are  proper  for  diseases  of  the  lower  parts.” 

The  physician’s  power  is  limited,  according  to 
one  Chinese  author  ; for  he  states  that  there  are 
six  sorts  of  complaints  he  cannot  cure  : “ The 

first  sort  is  of  the  presumptuous  or  haughty,  who 
will  not  listen  to  reason  ; the  second  sort  is  of  the 
covetous,  who  take  greater  care  of  their  riches  than 
of  their  own  bodies  ; the  third  sort  is  of  the  poor, 
who  want  the  common  necessaries  of  life  ; the 
fourth  sort  is  of  those  who  have  the  yum  and 
yong  irregular  ; the  fifth  sort  is  of  such  who,  on 
account  of  their  extreme  weakness  and  want  of 
flesh,  are  not  fit  to  take  any  sort  of  remedies  ; 
the  sixth  is  of  those  who  give  credit  to  quacks 
and  impostors,  and  have  no  faith  in  regular 
physicians.”  The  utter  disregard  for  a right  de- 
scription of  what  lies  under  the  surface  of  the 
skin  is  balanced  by  the  most  minute  account  of 

178 


Filial  Sacrifice 


the  surface  of  the  body,  which  is  all  mapped  out, 
and  each  square  inch  has  its  name  and  connection 
with  the  particular  disease  fixed  on  as  affecting 
the  patient. 

A sovereign  remedy  when  a parent  is  ill  is 
for  a son  or  a daughter  to  cut  a piece  of  flesh 
from  his  or  her  own  body,  generally  from  the  arm 
or  thigh,  with  which  a broth  is  made  for  the 
ailing  father  or  mother.  Every  now  and  then 
a case  of  the  kind  is  mentioned  in  the  papers. 
The  Chinese  laud  such  a deed  to  the  skies,  as  an 
exemplary  act  of  filial  piety.  We  are  afraid  it 
is  not  always  voluntary,  if  an  instance  described 
by  a foreign  medical  practitioner  in  the  Kwong 
Tung  province  is  to  be  taken  as  an  example 
of  some  of  the  other  occurrences  of  it,  which 
there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  may  be  the 
case. 

In  this  attempted  cure  by  means  of  it,  the  father 
had  been  under  the  care  of  an  English  doctor  ; 
but,  with  the  fatuity  of  the  Chinese,  his  family 
had  proceeded  to  consult  the  idols,  as  the  patient 
had  not  improved  immediately  on  the  first  dose 
of  the  foreign  medicine  given.  The  god  said  re- 
covery was  impossible  without  the  human  broth. 
The  sick  man’s  daughter  was  persuaded,  by  the 
highly  exalted  ideas  she  had  of  filial  piety,  and 
also  partly  by  threats,  to  give  a piece  of  flesh 
from  her  forearm  to  make  the  broth.  But  her 
sacrifice  was  unavailing  ; the  father  died,  and  the 
martyr  daughter  succumbed,  as  her  injured  arm, 

179 


John  Chinaman’s  Doctors 


being  wrapped  up  in  coarse  and  dirty  rags,  became 
diseased. 

Whatever  is  nasty  is  good  for  medicine  in  the 
opinion  of  John  Chinaman,  one  would  think  ; 
but  the  remedies  employed  are  no  more  nasty 
than  what  our  forefathers  took  to  cure  them- 
selves. We  cannot  afford  to  laugh  at  John  China- 
man, as  in  our  own  country  there  still  lingers 
the  remains  of  a belief  in  the  efficacy  of  strange 
and  hideous  remedies.  In  one  of  the  London  daily 
papers  recently  an  account  was  given  of  the  venom 
from  a rattlesnake  being  extracted,  to  be  used 
as  an  antidote  to  madness,  and  one  is  tempted 
to  say  the  cure  seems  an  insane  one.  If  people 
in  civilised  England  use  such  remedies,  what  can 
we  expect  of  the  Chinese? 

The  medical  missionary  practising  amongst  the 
Chinese  comes  across  some  remarkable  medica- 
ments, and  the  exhibition  of  them  under  the  most 
peculiar  circumstances. 

Here  are  one  or  two  instances  : A little  girl 
was  forced  to  drink  a concoction  of  scorpions 
and  woodlice,  as  a cure  for  gastro-enteritis,  besides 
being  burnt  in  several  places.  In  Roderick  Mac- 
donald, M.D.,  we  are  told  how  a poor  woman 
suffering  from  cancer  was  made  rapidly  worse 
by  the  use  of  Chinese  medicines.  “ One  side 
was  completely  eaten  away  by  the  awful  disease, 
and  all  over  the  raw  wounds  were  spread  slices 
of  putrid  pork  ! Their  reason  for  this  treatment 
was  the  hope  that  the  worms  in  the  pork  would 

180 


A Sad  Case 


attract  the  worms  in  the  wound,  and  in  this  way 
draw  out  the  evil  disease.”  The  patient  was  washed 
and  bandaged  comfortably  ; but  later  on  the 
bandages  were  torn  off  by  her  friends,  and  red 
and  yellow  papers  with  Chinese  characters  written 
on  them  were  pinned  to  her  clothes  and  mosquito- 
net,  and  red  papers  and  incense  burned  under 
her  bed,  to  draw  out  the  demons.  At  last  all  the 
relatives  and  her  husband  and  children  left  the 
room  for  her  to  die  alone,  frightened  to  be  near 
her,  from  fear  of  these  demons. 

The  most  disgusting  compounds  are  taken, 
sometimes  in  doses  large  enough  for  a horse.  One 
of  the  Emperors  of  China  died  after  being 
doctored  with  a pill  of  the  contents  of  which 
common  decency  prevents  the  mention. 

The  druggists’  shops  are  a pattern  of  neatness, 
and  are  nicely  fitted  up  with  drawers,  shelves, 
counters,  and  rows  of  pewter  or  blue  china  jars, 
and  gallipots.  The  Chinaman  knows  how  to  dress 
a shop  to  make  it  look  tempting. 

Many  of  the  drugs  are  simple  enough,  and  roots 
are  neatly  sliced,  often  across  the  grain,  such  as 
rhubarb  and  liquorice-root,  and  look  like  botanical 
specimens.  The  herbalists’  shops  present  a more 
untidy  appearance,  with  bunches  of  dried  herbs 
hanging  all  over  the  place  and  overflowing  into  the 
street  itself. 

One  might  divide  the  professors  of  the  healing 
art  in  China  into  doctors,  quacks,  and  old  women, 
though  the  sceptical  foreigner  would  describe 

j8i  N 


John  Chinaman’s  Doctors 


nearly  the  whole  of  them  under  both  the  second 
and  third  appellations.  The  first  are  again  divided 
by  the  Chinese  into  two  classes  : one  is  composed 
of  those  who  attend  to  outward  diseases  or  com- 
plaints ; and  the  other  is  formed  of  those  who  look 
after  internal  disorders,  generally,  as  may  be 
gathered  from  what  has  been  already  said,  in  a 
blind  way.  There  are  no  examinations,  nor  are 
diplomas  given.  Any  one  can  set  up  as  a doctor  : 
no  qualification  is  required  ; but  the  son  of  a 
physician  is  supposed  to  be  better  equipped  for 
the  tasks  of  curing  others,  and  more  worthy  of 
trust  and  confidence,  than  one  who  starts  without 
any  predecessor  in  the  art  of  healing.  This  is  not, 
as  at  first  sight  might  be  supposed,  due  to  the 
idea  of  heredity  transmitting  the  talent  from  father 
to  son.  It  is  mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
descendant  of  a doctor  will  inherit  his  books  of 
prescriptions,  and  thus  be  set  up  at  once  with  the 
necessary  knowledge  ready  to  his  hand  when  he 
starts. 

Added  eclat  and  prestige  are  the  lot  of  the  man 
who  can  put  up  over  his  door  that  he  is  a doctor 
of  the  third  generation.  He  is  then  in  the  public 
eye  duly  qualified,  and  has  no  need  of  aught  else 
to  testify  to  his  ability  to  kill  or  cure  at  sight. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  a shrewd  and  intelligent 
man  may,  and  does,  sometimes  hit  on  remedies 
which  are  beneficial  ; and  Nature,  if  not  stultified, 
may  be  the  healer,  while  the  doctor  gets  the  credit 
of  the  cure.  But  empiricism,  ignorance,  and  pre- 

182 


Modern  Changes 


conceived  notions  largely  militate  against  every- 
thing that  would  assist  the  novice  in  his  gropings 
in  the  dark. 

Not  only  is  preliminary  practice  wanting  ; but 
the  practice  that  might  be  obtained  clinically  at 
the  patients’  own  bedsides  is  almost  denied  him, 
or  at  all  events  reduced  to  a minimum,  from  the 
impatience  of  the  Chinese  when  under  medical 
treatment,  and  the  resultant  custom  to  call  in 
another  doctor  if  the  first  dose  or  so  of  medicine 
is  not  efficacious  at  once.  In  a serious  case  a 
dozen  or  a score  of  doctors  may  have  tried  one 
after  the  other  their  prentice  hands  on  the  sufferer, 
who  has  thus  endured  many  things  from  many 
doctors,  and,  like  the  woman  in  Scripture,  grown 
worse  instead  of  better  from  their  treatment. 

It  is  possible  that,  if  diligent  search  were  made 
amongst  the  great  mass  of  material  of  the  Chinese 
Pharmacopoeia  by  competent  Western  apothecaries 
and  physicians,  some  remedies  might  be  discovered 
of  utility  : it  almost  stands  to  reason  that  such 
would  be  the  case.  But  fossil  crabs  and  ground 
oyster-shells  (the  latter  used  for  mumps)  do  not 
look  very  hopeful  for  experiment,  or,  if  exhibited, 
conducive  to  recovery. 

Happily,  the  medical  missionaries  at  their 
hospitals  have  trained  a number  of  students  in  the 
principles  and  practice  of  Western  medicine.  These, 
with  the  hundreds  of  thousands  who  pass  through 
the  missionary  hospitals  cured  of  their  ailments, 
are  making  the  Chinese  in  many  parts  of  the 

183 


John  Chinaman’s  Doctors 


Empire  familiar  with  foreign  doctors  and  foreign 
medicine.  The  new  Imperial  Medical  Department 
is  also  to  be  strengthened  by  the  addition  of  doctors 
trained  in  European  methods.  Thus  better  days 
are  dawning  for  the  sick  and  infirm  in  China. 


184 


CHAPTER  XV 


What  John  Chinaman  Reads 

F the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end. 


Doubtless  this  is  far  more  true,  not  only  in 
the  Far  West,  but  in  the  Far  East,  than  it  was 
in  the  day  when  the  learned  author  penned  the 
statement. 

Notwithstanding  the  iconoclastic  zeal  of  the 
ancient  and  detested  Emperor,  who  swept  away 
the  classic  lore  of  China  with  a barbarity  worthy 
of  the  Goths  and  of  Alexandria,  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  more  destructive  element  of  fire,  which 
has  consumed  many  a mammoth  library  of  in- 
estimable value,  the  literature  of  China  seems  an 
inexhaustible  storehouse  of  volumes  on  almost 
every  branch  of  knowledge  or  ignorance. 

Were  the  funds  of  information  and  the  treasures 
of  interest  not  locked  up  in  the  intricacies  of  a 
language  which  is  a Chinese  puzzle-lock  to  most 
Westerners,  ardent  students  by  the  hundreds  and 
thousands,  instead  of  the  few,  would  have  explored 
the  vast  labyrinth  which  tantalises  by  its  immensity 


185 


What  John  Chinaman  Reads 

those  who  would  like  to  wander  through  all  its 
intricate  paths. 

The  classics  are  the  sacred  books  of  China — 
the  Chinese  Pentateuch  and  Gospels,  though  there 
is  no  analogy  between  them  and  those  of  our 
Sacred  Literature  except  in  name,  or  rather  number 
— “The  Five  Classics”  and  “The  Four  Books.” 
By  the  classics  are  meant  these  nine  volumes  which 
contain  the  sayings  of  Confucius  and  Mencius 
primarily,  and  secondly,  works  either  edited  or 
compiled  by  the  former,  or  bearing  the  imprimatur 
of  his  ardent  approval,  or  compiled  by  his 
followers. 

■Were  we  to  select  what  John  Chinaman  considers 
his  best  books,  they  would  scarcely  exceed  one 
hundred,  the  standard  apparently  set  by  some  in 
England  ; but  a hundred  times  the  number,  or  a 
hundred  times  that,  would  not  tell  the  tale  of  all 
his  books. 

A large  mass  of  works  has  accumulated  round 
the  classics  in  the  way  of  commentaries,  &c. 
Histories  are  large  and  voluminous,  dealing  with 
whole  dynasties  or  certain  periods.  Some  of  the 
ancient  ones  are  dry  as  dust,  consisting  of  a mass 
of  isolated  facts,  or  what  are  thought  to  be  facts, 
stated  in  the  most  bald  and  uninteresting  style. 
A blazon  of  glory  gathers  round  one  semi-historical 
book,  or  novel  rather,  which  narrates  the  story 
of  events  in  the  feudal  times.  But,  as  a rule,  novels 
are  considered  by  the  Chinese  to  hold  quite  a 
secondary  position.  In  fact,  a secondary  position 

1 86 


New  Wine,  Old  Bottles 

is  far  too  high  a one  for  them.  Novelists  seldom' 
put  their  names  to  their  productions,  as  was  the 
case  once  in  the  West  as  well. 

Barring  the  classics  and  what  pertains  to  them, 
poetry  and  belles-lettres,  the  other  productions  of 
the  press  are  considered  by  the  educated  Chinese 
as  inferior  in  quality,  though  in  quantity  their 
numbers  are  great. 

It  may  be  stated  as  an  axiom  of  Chinese  life 
that  nearly  all  that  is  old  is  considered  to  be 
excellent.  The  old  wine  is  better  ; or  at  least  was 
until  recently,  when  the  vintages  produced  in 
the  West  having  been  sampled  and  tested,  a 
change  is  coming  over  John  Chinaman’s  taste. 
At  present,  the  experiment  of  putting  the  old  wine 
into  new  bottles,  or  rather  the  new  wine  of  Western 
civilisation,  learning,  and  education  into  the  old 
bottles  of  Chinese  thought,  is  being  tried,  with  the 
result  that  the  inevitable  fermentation  has  set  in, 
sometimes  with  disastrous  results,  and  unrest  and 
outbursts  may  take  place,  till  new  bottles  are 
turned  out  in  sufficient  numbers  in  the  way  of 
preparation  of  large  numbers  of  Eastern  minds,  by 
shaping  them  into  more  progressive  modes,  so  as 
to  be  able  to  assimilate  the  new. 

The  foundations  of  an  education  removed  from 
the  narrow  basis  of  Chinese  knowledge  are  being 
laid  in  China  on  a large  scale.  As  a result,  some 
of  the  youths  of  China  would  make  their  grand- 
fathers turn  in  their  narrow  geomantic  graves  and 
spoil  all  the  fung-shui,  if  they  knew  that  their  scions 

187 


What  John  Chinaman  Reads 


were  discarding  the  old  classics,  the  glory  of 
ancient  and  modern  China,  and  actually  saying  that 
they  had  no  use  for  them,  and  they  were  of  no 
account. 

There  is  one  thing  that  redounds  to  the  honour 
of  the  Chinese,  and  which  should  be  flung  into  the 
teeth  of  their  detractors  ; and  that  is  that  there  is 
not  a single  impure  passage  in  the  whole  classical 
literature  of  China  ; this  is  also  true  if  we 
extend  the  term  “ classical  ” to  our  conception  of 
what  that  word  implies,  and  do  not  limit  it  to 
the  sacred  books  of  China  only.  It  is  only  in  some 
of  the  novels  that  there  is  a slight  tendency 
occasionally  towards  the  mention  of  things  that 
had  better  be  left  unsaid  ; but  even  this  does 
not  approach  the  atmosphere  of  impurity  which 
pervades  some  of  our  .Western  light  literature. 

This  is  all  the  more  extraordinary  when  one 
realises  how  unclean  John  Chinaman’s  mouth  is. 
The  Eastern  atmosphere  has  apparently  something 
to  do  with  this  ; but  when  all  is  said,  his  foulness 
does  not  go  very  far  beyond,  if  any  farther,  than 
that  some  of  the  lower  classes  in  England  indulge 
in.  It  seems  to  us  in  the  West  a peculiar  trait  of 
mind  which  permits  the  constant  reference  to 
subjects  which  are  tabooed  in  polite  society  with 
us.  This  gives  a familiarity  of  treatment  which 
is  apt,  according  to  our  present-day  ideas  (though 
three  hundred  years  ago  our  ancestors  took  the 
same  position  with  regard  to  them),  to  develop 
into  excessive  freedom  of  speech  about  matters 

188 


Chinese  Literature 


which  had  better  be  left  alone.  John  Chinaman 
does  not  swear,  or  but  seldom  ; but  he  heaps 
odium  on  the  mother  and  ancestors  of  his  adver- 
sary, by  suggesting  the  grossest  crimes. 

So  does  he  familiarise  himself  with  this  form 
of  objurgation  that  he  can  scarce  open  his  mouth 
without  using  these  forms  of  speech,  which,  used 
simply  as  exclamations,  convey  no  meaning,  so 
debased  are  they  by  constant  employ,  much  after 
the  manner  of  some  in  England. 

To  quote  the  Quarterly  Review  once  more  : — 
“ The  Chinese  stand  eminently  distinguished  from 
other  Asiatics  by  their  early  possession  and  exten- 
sive use  of  the  important  art  of  printing.”  “ Hence 
they  are,  as  might  be  expected,  a reading  people  ; 
a certain  degree  of  education  is  common  among 
even  the  lower  classes.”  “ Among  the  higher  it  is 
superfluous  to  insist  on  the  great  estimation  in 
which  letters  must  be  held,  under  a system  where 
learning  forms  the  very  threshold  of  the  gate  that 
conducts  to  fame,  honour,  and  civil  employment. 

“ Amid  the  vast  mass  of  printed  books  which  is 
the  natural  offspring  of  such  a state  of  things,  we 
make  no  scruple  to  avow  that  the  circle  of  their 
belles-lettres,  comprised  under  the  heads  of  Drama, 
Poetry,  and  Novels,  has  always  possessed  the 
highest  place  in  our  esteem.”  “ We  must  say  that 
there  appears  no  readier  or  more  agreeable  mode 
of  becoming  intimately  acquainted  with  a people 
from  whom  Europe  can  have  little  to  learn  on 
the  score  of  either  moral  or  physical  science,  than 

189 


What  John  Chinaman  Reads 


by  drawing  largely  on  the  inexhaustible  stores  of 
their  ornamental  literature.” 

As  to  fiction,  there  are  18,000  well-known 
novels.  The  following  description  from  a work 
by  myself  will  convey  some  idea  of  the  Chinese 
novel  : 

“ A Chinese  novel  is  generally  a finished  sketch 
in  black  and  white — very  black  and  very  white, 
no  softening  down  nor  shading  : the  characters 
stand  out  in  bold  relief.  The  villains  are  as 
black  as  black  can  be,  and  form  the  deepest 
background,  to  throw  into  relief  the  virtuous  hero 
and  heroine,  and  their  friends,  helpers,  and  well- 
wishers.  The  hero  is  a paragon  of  excellence, 
physically,  mentally,  and  morally.  He  often 
possesses  the  prowess  of  a warrior,  the  intellect  of 
a senior  wrangler,  while  as  regards  the  virtues 
he  stands  at  high-water  mark. 

“ The  heroine — but  what  need  to  describe  her? 
It  is  needless  to  say  she  is  charming,  as  seen 
through  Chinese  spectacles  ; her  lover  will 
generally  find  her — in  this  so  different  from  the 
real  Chinese  women — so  well  acquainted  with 
letters  as  to  lift  her  from  the  mere  position  of  a 
doll,  and  withal  ‘ a clever,  resourceful,  and  modest 
young  lady.’  Apparently  insuperable  difficulties 
are  piled  up,  of  course,  by  the  novelist,  for  him  to 
clear  away  by  his  consummate  skill  in  the  un- 
ravelling of  the  plots  and  intrigues  against  hero 
and  heroine,  and  all  comes  well  in  the  end,  not 
with  the  ringing  of  marriage-bells,  for  such  things 

190 


Chinese  Poetry 

are  unknown  in  China,  but  with  the  red  wedding 
sedan-chair,  the  firing  of  crackers  and  beating  of 
gongs,  and  feasting.”  1 

'*  The  whole  subject  of  Chinese  poetry  is  worthy 
of  a more  thorough  treatment  than  it  has  yet 
received.  One  peculiar  element  is  the  tones  which 
in  the  Chinese  language  give  a musical  note 
unknown  in  foreign  tongues,  to  which  attention  has 
to  be  paid  by  the  Chinese  poet,  apart  from  the 
identity  of  some  required  for  rhyme.”  “ The 
Chinese  language  lends  itself  readily  to  the  poetic 
art  ; harsh  consonantal  sounds  are  wanting,  and 
the  combination  of  consonants  and  vowels  is  often 
musical.  Though  largely  monosyllabic,  the 
diphthongs  give  a somewhat  dissyllabic  character 
to  many  of  the  words.  The  cadence  and  modula- 
tion required  are  to  be  found  in  the  tones  of  the 
Chinese  language,  and  every  word  takes  the  place 
of  a foot  occupied  by  a metrical  foot  in  our 
.Western  poetry.”  * 

“ In  the  hands  of  an  accomplished  writer,  the 
Chinese  language  is  capable  of  a condensed 
picturesqueness  and  vigour,  such  as  can  be 
rendered  into  no  foreign  language  less  ideographic 
in  its  mode  of  writing,  unless  by  means  of  wordy 
paraphrases.  Each  character  in  its  (often 
numerous)  component  parts  carries  a wealth  of 
imagery  to  the  sense,  and  whole  series  of  metaphors 

1 Things  Chinese,  by  J.  Dyer  Ball.  4th  Edition,  p.  485. 

2 Ibid.,  pp.  539-40.  Also  see  Rhythms  and  Rhymes  in  Chinese 
Climes:  A Lecture  on  Chinese  Poetry  and  Poets.  By  J.  Dyer  Ball. 

191 


What  John  Chinaman  Reads 


are  embodied  in  a single  epithet.  A language  of 
this  kind  lends  itself  especially  to  the  description 
of  the  scenery,  and  the  most  superficial  analysis 
of  Chinese  poetry  reveals  the  fact  that  the  pro- 
ductions which  are  most  applauded  in  this  branch 
of  literature  consist  simply  of  elaborate  word- 
painting,  whose  beauty  resides  rather  in  the 
medium  of  expression  than  in  the  author’s  thought. 
Hence  it  happens  that  when  odes,  renowned  for 
centuries  amjong  Chinese  readers,  are  transposed 
into  the  naked  languages  of  Europe,  it  is  found 
that  their  charm  has  vanished,  as  the  petals  of  a 
flower  are  dropped  front  the  insignificant  and 
sober-coloured  fruit.” 

The  youth  in  his  studies  learns  his  first  lessons 
to  a tripping  rhyming  measure.  After  going 
through  two  or  three  small  books  of  this  character, 
he  devotes  some  time  in  his  scholastic  and 
collegiate  course  to  a number  of  the  classics  in 
prose,  but,  if  he  continues  his  studies,  sooner  or 
later  he  finds  his  curriculum  embraces  the  ancient 
Book  of  Odes,  a collection  of  over  three  hundred 
ancient  folk-songs,  consisting  of  songs,  ballads, 
heroic  odes,  sacrificial  hymns,  and  love-songs, 
handed  down  from  centuries  before  our  Christian 
era. 

Poetry  seems  to  have  adapted  itself  to  all  con- 
ditions of  Chinese  life.  Entering  in  at  a city  gate 
one  may  sometimes  see  a proclamation  in  rhyme, 
issued  by  some  high  official;  a notice  put  up  by 
your  native  servants  in  the  servants’  quarters  of 

192 


A BLIND  SINCIXO  (URL  AND  DUENNA 


Chinese  Poets 


your  house  will  also  be  at  times  in  jingling 
measures;  the  ritual  or  exordium  read  by  Taoist 
priests  to  the  bridegroom  and  bride  of  the  boat 
population  is  in  lines  of  verse.  The  verses  used 
at  wedding  feasts  as  a play  or  game  are  in 
quatrains.  The  oracles  are  in  verse.  Ballad-books 
abound,  and  for  the  delight  of  those  who  cannot 
read  as  well  as  of  those  who  can,  ballad-singers 
go  about,  ready  to  be  hired  to  sing  in  a recitative 
strain,  accompanying  themselves  with  a tinkling 
instrument.  Blind  singing-girls  with  their  duennas 
and  guitars  seek  engagements  at  night.  Thus 
poetry  and  song  and  music  surround  the  Chinaman. 

It  would  be  impossible  here  to  enumerate  the 
names  and  works  of  poets  in  a land  where  poets 
abound,  and  every  higher  educated  schoolboy  is 
taught  to  compose  in  verse  as  well  as  in  prose. 
Among  some  of  the  foremost  poets  of  China  were 
Lay  Tai  Pak  (30  volumes),  and  So  Toong  Poh, 
whose  works,  poetic  and  prose,  are  contained  in 
1 15  volumes.  These  two  produced  rough 
diamonds  and  polished  gems.  But  these  are  only 
two  out  of  many  famous  ones. 

One  specimen,  translated  by  the  present  author 
from  the  second  of  these  two  poets,  is  entitled — 

A WARRIOR  BOLD. 

A Warrior  bold 
In  Ho  Sai  old; 

Alas  ! but  no  one  knows  him  now. 

Athwart  the  stream 
Where  waters  gleam 

He  sees  the  boats  through  billows  plough. 

193 


What  John  Chinaman  Reads 

His  piebald  steed 
Has  run  to  weed, 

Nor  bears  his  master  to  the  fray; 

His  lance  so  long, 

In  arm  so  strong, 

A beam,  nor  man,  nor  elf  could  stay. 

And  now  the  toll 
This  noble  soul 

Must  count  the  livelong  summer’s  day, 

And  fret  himself 
With  hoarded  pelf, 

And  wear  his  wasted  life  away. 

From  Western  lands 
Our  beaten  bands 

Return  ; but  he  our  land  could  save ; 

He’d  mount  his  steed, 

And  take  the  lead 
Before  ten  thousand  troopers  brave. 

And  foemen  die, 

As  arrows  fly, 

And  sheathe  themselves  in  quivering  flesh, 

Then  from  my  car 
I’d  watch  afar 

My  hero’s  valour  rise  afresh. 

Besides  this,  two  love-songs  must  suffice  for 
specimens  of  Chinese  poetry: 


TO  FIND  A HEART  THAT’S  TRUE. 

And  oh  ! to  find  a heart  that’s  true  ; 
For  winning  it  there’s  naught  I’d  rue. 
And  e’en  in  death  I’d  seek  it  yet, 

Nor  ceasing  but  till  it  I’d  met. 

194 


Amorous  Verse 


And  then  a glance  would  test  its  truth, 
And  yet  a glance  would  test  its  ruth  ; 
With  love  as  test  we’d  surely  meet 
In  happy  troth,  in  counsel  sweet. 

Alas  ! but  fraud  has  had  its  way, 

And  fraud  on  fraud  has  won  the  day  ; 

An  empty  heart  is  all  that’s  left, 

Beware,  or  ere  your  heart’s  bereft. 

E’en  though  he  comes  with  heart  of  steel, 
I’ll  test  him  twice  to  test  the  real ; 

I’ll  test  him  thrice  to  know  his  heart, 

Or  ere  he  comes  with  guileful  art. 


OH  ! CORD  OF  THOUGHTS  OF  LOVE. 

Oh  ! Cord  of  Thoughts  of  Love, 

That  binds  us  from  above, 

Canst  thou  but  draw  him  here, 

Oh  ! bring  him  to  me  near. 

If  strength  is  in  thy  strands, 

Then  loose  not  thou  the  bands 
Of  heartstrings’  blended  length, 

For  hence  their  wondrous  strength. 

Oh  ! Cord  of  Thoughts  of  Love. 

That  binds  us  from  above, 

If  one  doth  cast  me  by, 

Befooled  with  hateful  lie, 

I spurn  thee,  Cord  of  Hate  : 

I hate  thee  for  that  state. 

Thou  draw'st  us  heart  from  heart, 

And  mak’st  true  love  to  part. 

Oh  ! Cord  of  Thoughts  of  Love, 

That  binds  us  from  above. 
Love-worthy  now  thy  meed ; 

Thou  draw’st  us  back  indeed. 

*95 


What  John  Chinaman  Reads 

From  either  side  away 

We’re  dragged,  nor  can  we  stay  ; 

Thus  bound  in  union  sweet, 

I know  not  when  we  meet. 

Oh  ! Cord  of  Thoughts  of  Love, 

That  binds  us  from  above. 

Alas  ! my  heart  is  thine, 

’Midst  stormy  skies  and  fine. 

Its  love  is  in  thy  heart, 

Inshrined  with  guileless  art. 

My  heart’s  best  love  to  thee,  my  life 
Is  given.  Oh  ! keep  it  true  from  strife. 

Oh  ! Cord  of  Thoughts  of  Love, 

That  binds  us  from  above. 

Oh  ! pity  ’tis  that  you 
From  time  to  time  anew 
Do  cut  the  cord  that  binds, 

And  then  my  spirit  finds 
In  riot  wild  my  heart 
And  beating  bosom  start. 

Oh  ! Cord  of  Thoughts  of  Love 
That  binds  us  from  above. 

I swear  by  stream  and  hill, 

An  oath  by  mount  and  rill, 

That  hearts  must  never  change, 

If  Love  apart  doth  range, 

Nor  cord  will  then  us  bind  ; 

Our  ways  apart  we  find. 

It  is  impossible  in  the  space  of  a few  pages  to 
give  any  idea  of  the  immense  mass  of  Chinese 
literature  in  all  its  many  branches.  Take  for 
example  the  one  heading  of  Buddhism.  Under 
this  are  to  be  found  nearly  two  thousand  transla- 
tions by  the  early  Buddhists  in  China — Hindoo 

196 


Western  Influence 


and  native — made  from  the  Sanscrit,  without  taking 
into  account  the  original  works  which  in  time  came 
under  that  category,  and  were  written  by  Chinese 
adherents  of  that  faith.  It  will  thus  be  seen  how 
vast  and  extensive  a range  Chinese  literature 
embraces.  Modern  works  of  one  kind  and  another 
pour  out  from  the  press  in  great  and  increasing 
numbers. 

A fresh  impetus  has  been  given  of  late  with 
the  desire  of  the  Chinese  to  learn  all  the  West 
has  to  teach  them;  for  now  Western  science  and 
knowledge  is  being  laid  under  contribution  to  an 
almost  unprecedented  extent.  Unfortunately, 
though,  all  that  is  translated  and  thus  appropriated 
and  assimilated  is  not  of  the  highest  class,  even 
bad  novels  to  pander  to  the  low  passions  of  the 
vile  being  included.  Standard  books  as  well  are, 
however,  being  spread  broadcast  amongst  the 
educated  in  large  numbers. 

There  is  much  hope  for  China  when  we 
remember,  as  one  author  says,  that  “ the  Chinese 
are  great  prose-writers,  and  express  facts  con- 
nected with  all  their  civilisation  and  quasi-art  and 
science  with  much  accuracy.  Their  libraries  are 
stored  with  works  on  medicine,  astrology,  astro- 
nomy, geography,  hydrography,  and  religion. 
Many  of  their  works  are  mines  of  native  lore, 
and  display  an  ability  and  knowledge  which  might 
have  been  turned  to  better  account,  had  the  authors 
enjoyed  free  intercourse  with  the  men  of  science 
of  the  West.  The  Chinese  possess  a power  of 

X97  o 


What  John  Chinaman  Reads 


observation  the  most  minute,  supplemented  by  a 
patient  and  persevering  spirit,  which  even  in  the 
absence  of  higher  qualities  will  serve  them  in  good 
stead  when  they  take  to  the  serious  studies  of 
Western  art  and  science.” 

This  passage  was  written  some  thirty-three  years 
ago.  The  time  thus  foreshadowed  has  arrived,  and 
the  nation  is  now  availing  itself  of  those  advan- 
tages which  were  denied  it  for  so  many  centuries 
that  it  took  years  to  perceive  that  what  was  offered 
was  worthy  of  its  acceptance. 

A new  branch  of  literature  has  sprung  up  within 
the  last  few  years  in  the  modern  newspapers,  and 
these  are  now  numbered  by  hundreds. 


198 


CHAPTER  XVI 

John  Chinaman  Afloat 

A POPULATION  large  enough  to  fill  a 
kingdom  peoples  the  rivers,  the  waterways, 
and  coast-line  of  China.  Here  are  millions  who 
never  go  to  sea,  but  whose  lives  are  more  spent 
on  the  water  than  even  sailors’  lives  are.  With  us 
few  are  seafaring  men  from  the  moment  of  their 
birth  to  that  of  their  death;  but  all  the  Chinese 
boat  people  start  their  first  breath  on  some  small 
sampan  which  has  withdrawn  from  the  others.  One 
of  the  bamboo  semi-cylindrical  movable  covers 
over  the  centre  of  the  boat  has  been  hauled  down 
over  the  entrance  to  this  mid-portion  of  the  craft, 
while  the  business  of  admitting  another  puling, 
tiny  specimen  of  John  Chinaman  on  to  the  troubled 
waters  of  life  is  being  attended  to.  His  mother 
is  too  busy  to  give  up  much  time  to  him,  and  a 
few  days  finds  the  boat  in  its  usual  rank,  and 
mother  busy  plying  the  oar  again. 

A British  sea-captain  has  authority  to  perform 
the  marriage  ceremony  while  at  sea ; but  it  is 

199 


John  Chinaman  Afloat 


rarely  that  such  a marriage  is  celebrated,  much 
less  that  it  is  a sailor  who  is  thus  married. 
These  Chinese  boat  people,  however,  are  married 
on  the  water.  The  presents  precedent  to  the 
wedding  are  carried  in  boats  from  the  vessels 
one  party  to  the  union  resides  on  to  those  of  the 
other  party.  For  the  carrying  out  of  the  ceremony 
large  marriage-boats  are  to  be  hired  with  scarlet 
hangings,  together  with  music  of  wind  instruments, 
and  gorgeous  wedding  garments  of  the  propitious 
colour — scarlet — but  without  the  large  red  flowery 
sedan-chair  which  every  landswoman  must  ride 
in  once  as  a bride,  but  never  again.  With  all 
this  rejoicing  and  “ double  joy  ” the  little  boat- 
girl  is  wedded  to  her  mate  as  securely  on  the 
water  as  her  countrywoman  the  landsman’s  bride 
on  terra  firma. 

And  last  of  all  when,  after  all  their  long  toil 
and  lives  of  hardship,  the  occupants  of  sampans, 
passage-boats,  and  junks  go  to  their  long  rest,  it 
is  from  the  craft  on  which  they  die — the  last  cere- 
monies having  been  performed — that  the  dead 
are  taken  on  shore,  and  in  the  huge  coffins 
laid  to  rest  in  the  same  mother  earth  as  the 
landsmen. 

Like  the  gondolas  of  Venice,  the  sampans  are 
the  cabs  in  Chinese  cities  and  towns  which  have 
a sea  or  river  frontage;  the  cargo-boats  and 
lighters  are  the  drays  and  waggons  and  carts, 
which  are  utterly  unknown  in  the  south,  and  not 
only  take  off  goods  to  the  vessels  lying  in  the 

200 


Water-traders 


harbour,  stream,  or  offing,  but  also  transport  goods 
and  merchandise  from  one  part  of  the  shore  to 
the  other. 

Nearly  all  the  peripatetic  traders  and  hawkers 
on  land  have  their  counterpart  in  little  boats,  which 
supply  every  commodity  required  by  the  boat 
people  and  those  who  have  a river  frontage. 
Your  garden  can  be  stocked  with  flowers,  or  pots 
placed  on  your  verandah  from  the  florist’s  little 
boat,  groceries  bought,  cloth  purchased  from  other 
tiny  little  craft — miniature  little  stores,  where  well- 
nigh  every  available  niche  of  room  is  occupied 
with  goods  for  sale. 

Fish,  alive  and  floundering,  so  near  their  free- 
dom in  the  broad  river,  but  confined  in  the  boat 
of  the  floating  fishmonger,  are  brought  to  the  side 
of  your  own  boat,  and  in  the  same  way  the  boat- 
man-greengrocer  has  a choice  of  the  season’s 
vegetables  fresh  from  the  market-gardener’s 
weedless  rows,  brought,  we  were  about  saying, 
to  your  very  door  itself.  The  oil-man,  too,  not 
ready  to  pour  his  oil  on  the  troubled  waters,  but 
anxious  for  you  to  buy  it  for  lamp,  or  to  fry 
your  vegetables  and  fish  that  the  passing  green- 
grocer and  fishmonger  have  just  supplied  you 
with. 

Do  you  want  a bowl  to  eat  your  rice  out  of,  or 
a flower-pot  to  put  a cactus  or  some  other  treasure 
into  at  the  stern  of  your  boat,  alongside  the  hen- 
coop, hanging  out  over  the  water  ? The  crockery- 
seller  will  soon  be  along  paddling  his  tiny  craft, 

201 


John  Chinaman  Afloat 


weighed  down  to  the  water’s  edge  with  his  frail 
ware.  After  him  will  come  the  floating  soup- 
kitchen,  with  its  pots  of  savoury  fish  or  other 
soup  boiling  over  its  furnaces  in  the  bottom  of 
the  boat.  And  when  most  of  these  have  ceased 
their  plying  up  and  down  the  river  for  trade,  and 
the  inky  blackness  of  the  water  succeeds  to  the 
light  of  day,  with  only  a dancing  twinkling  ray  of 
light  flashing  now  and  then  across  the  gloom  on 
the  deep  stream,  in  unison  with  the  surroundings 
comes  the  eerie  cry  in  winter  of  the  seller  of  hot 
sugar-cane,  with  its  weird  effects,  as  it  dies  away 
in  a long-drawn  tone  of  voice. 

All  these  and  many  others  by  day  and  night  row, 
or  scull,  or  paddle  up  and  down  the  river,  catering 
for  the  wants  of  multitudes,  who  thus  can  save 
the  trouble  of  going  on  shore  to  make  their 
purchases. 

Amidst  the  busy  scene  the  shrimp-catcher  is 
throwing  his  basket-traps  from  his  boat  in  long 
lines,  to  bring  up  these  toothsome  dainties  for 
the  market.  His  wife  rows,  and  he  casts  in  his 
traps,  occasionally  taking  his  share  at  the  oars. 
Ferry-boats  slowly  cross  the  river  with  their 
complement  of  a dozen  passengers,  seated  in  two 
rows  facing  each  other,  as  in  a London  ’bus.  Each 
passenger  pays  two  cash  for  crossing  a river  a 
quarter  of  a mile  wide — that  is,  a twentieth  of  a 
penny.  The  loads  of  the  coolies  are  put  in  the 
bows  of  the  boat,  where  also  occasionally  is  to 
be  seen  a leper,  who  is  not  allowed  amongst  the 

202 


Boat-life 

other  passengers.  The  ferryman  yeeoo-loes  at  the 
stern. 

A few  years  ago,  shooting  every  now  and  then 
amongst  these,  was  to  be  seen  a small  sampan, 
vigorously  sculled  by  one  man  at  the  stern,  and 
rowed  by  another  at  the  bows.  On  one  of  the  seats 
inside  lay  the  bag  of  smuggled  opium  they  were 
hastening  to  deliver. 

Hundreds,  nay  thousands,  of  all  sorts  of  boats 
and  vessels  are  passing  up  or  down,  or  moored,  or 
anchored,  at  the  banks  or  further  out  in  midstream. 
Here  are  lying  long  boats  with  the  usual  matting 
covers  extending  nearly  the  whole  length  of  the 
narrow  craft,  which  has  turned-up  bows  and  stern 
to  cope  with  the  rapids  it  has  shot  coming  down, 
and  has  to  breast  going  up  one  of  the  long  water- 
ways of  China.  These  up-country  boats  consort 
together  (as  do  many  of  the  different  vessels  of 
one  sort  or  class),  and  a score  or  two,  or  even 
larger  numbers  of  them,  may  be  seen  lying  along- 
side one  another  in  great  strings  near  the  banks. 
There  are  certain  spots  where  each  kind  of  boat 
lies,  and  those  who  know  the  river  and  its  ways 
know  just  where  their  anchorages  are. 

The  different  kinds  of  boats — and  they  are 
numerous — which  may  be  classed  under  the  generic 
term  of  houseboats  also  gather  each  after  his  kind 
in  one  spot,  and  one  may  see  streets  of  them. 
They  are  fastened  to  a long  and  large  rope  cable 
which  runs  along  under  their  bows.  The  front 
platforms,  all  in  a line,  look  like  the  sidewalk  in  a 

203 


John  Chinaman  Afloat 


street,  and  the  boat  people  pass  from  one  to  the 
other,  and  sit  out  in  the  open  smoking  and  chatting 
to  one  another  when  thus  laid  up  in  harbour. 
The  sampans  and  little  boats  pass  up  and  down 
the  open  waterway  in  front  of  them,  like  cabs 
in  a street.  Sometimes  two  rows  face  each  other, 
and  the  illusion  is  complete. 

When  one  of  these  is  hired  for  a day’s  excur- 
sion or  a long  trip  up-country,  it  comes  out  of 
its  line,  and  all  is  bustle  for  the  voyage.  The 
master’s  wife  and  children  live  on  board.  They 
occupy  the  stern,  where  the  galley  is.  The 
travellers  who  have  hired  the  boat  take  the  whole 
centre  part,  ;where  there  are  one  or  two  small  cabins 
and  two  or  three  large  compartments,  which  serve 
as  sitting,  or  dining-rooms,  and,  if  necessary, 
bedrooms  at  night. 

The  boatmen  navigate  the  boat  from  the  front 
platform,  where  in  one  kind  of  boat  a huge  oar 
sticks  out  from  the  bows,  to  help  in  the  steering, 
though  there  is  an  enormous  rudder  at  the  stern 
as  well.  Galleries  run  along  both  sides  of  the 
vessel  on  which  the  boatmen  run  when  poling  or 
“ quanting  ” (as  we  believe  it  is  termed  on  the 
Norfolk  Broads)  the  boat.  If  necessary  some  half- 
dozen  or  dozen  of  the  crew  will  go  ashore  and 
track  her,  on  the  rough  excuse  for  a path  on  the 
bank.  At  other  times,  as  an  auxiliary  force  or 
even  alone,  a small  boat,  attached  as  a tug  to  the 
large  vessel,  tows  her  in  front,  the  small  boat  being 
propelled  by  half  a dozen  men  standing  and 

204 


Boat  Journeys 


rowing.  Oars  are  also  used  at  times ; hut  with  a 
strong  and  good  wind  sail  is  hoisted,  and  so  by 
one  means  or  another  the  heavy,  huge  boat  pro- 
gresses with  fair  wind  or  against  foul,  unless  she 
perches  herself  high  and  dry  on  a sand-bank,  when, 
if  necessary,  help  is  sought  from  any  craft  in  the 
neighbourhood  to  assist  in  getting  her  off. 

Besides  the  luggage  of  the  passenger  and  his 
family  who  have  hired  her,  the  wily  captain  and 
his  crew  have  managed  to  load  bags  of  smuggled 
salt  (salt  being  a Government  monopoly  in  China) 
into  the  hold,  where  they  lie  perdues  till  the  oppor- 
tunity for  disposing  of  them  has  arrived.  The 
Chinaman  has  always  an  eye  for  the  main  chance  ; 
and  though  you  have  hired  his  boat,  he  manages, 
unknown  to  you,  or  sometimes  before  your  very 
eyes,  to  take  a cargo  on  board  as  well.  At 
nightfall  the  boat  anchors,  glad  to  get  near  a 
town,  or  be  in  company  with  a number  of  others, 
for  fear  of  the  enterprising  pirate. 

Then  there  were  the  enormous  flower-boats  of 
Canton,  which  are  almost,  if  not  quite,  a thing 
of  the  past.  One  of  their  functions  was  to  serve 
for  the  dinner  parties  of  gentlemen  where,  as 
Chinese  customs  forbid  men  meeting  their  friends’ 
wives  or  respectable  women  at  the  dinner -table, 
they  consorted  with  those  whom  their  wives  would 
not  receive  in  their  own  homes.  Standing  high 
out  of  the  water,  they  formed  a butt  for  the  wild 
cyclones  known  in  the  East  as  typhoons,  and  great 
was  the  wreck  when  one  of  greater  strength  than 

205 


John  Chinaman  Afloat 


usual  swept  over  the  waters.  As  these  boats 
ministered  to  vice,  official  prohibitions  were  ful- 
minated against  them  every  now  and  then,  and 
they  were  driven  from  pillar  to  post.  Finally, 
made  of  most  inflammable  materials  with  wood- 
carvings  of  considerable  dimensions,  a great  fire 
has  swept  them  pretty  well  out  of  existence,  when 
hundreds  of  the  poor  inmates  perished.  Even 

before  this  the  largest  ones  were  disappearing, 
as  robbers  attacked  them  and  carried  off  the 
inmates  to  sell. 

Then  there  are  the  different  passage-boats,  as 
they  are  called,  which  have  occupied  the  position 
which  local  trains  do  in  our  countries  in  the  West. 
They  start  at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning  from 
certain  spots  on  the  river  front.  Most  of  them 
nowadays,  since  the  awakening  of  China  to  steam 
power,  are  towed  by  steam  launches.  They  carry 
hundreds  of  passengers,  who  are  packed  so  closely 
together  that  it  is  a wonder  how  they  can  all 
get  in.  There  are  three  tiers  of  decks,  and  it 
is  a mystery  how  the  Chinese  sit  for  hours  in 
these  cramped-up  positions.  At  long  intervals  one 
capsizes,  and  the  loss  of  life  is  infinitely  worse 
than  in  a railway  accident  in  England,  caged  up 
and  caged  in  as  most  of  the  passengers  are. 

Besides  these  passenger-boats  there  are  the 
large  two-masted  boats  which  take  the  place  of 
the  goods  train,  and  sail  away  for  two  or  three 
days’  journey,  laden  with  goods. 

But  time  would  fail  to  tell  of  the  thousand  and 
206 


Sea  Voyages 


one  different  craft  that  are  to  be  found  on  the 
rivers,  canals,  creeks,  and  waterways  of  China. 
Each  town  often  rejoices  in  some  type  of  vessel 
slightly  different  from  those  of  other  towns,  while 
at  the  same  time  using  many  that  are  common 
to  adjacent  parts. 

Besides  all  these  inner-water  craft,  there  are 
the  sea-going  fishing-smacks  and  trawlers  and 
numerous  fishing-junks  of  one  sort  and  another, 
which  supply  the  enormous  market  for  fish  in 
China,  dead  and  alive,  salt  and  fresh,  with  such 
a variety  that  if  one  ate  everything  that  comes  out 
of  the  sea,  as  the  Chinese  do,  there  would  be 
a new  kind  of  fish  for  every  day  in  the  year. 
For  they  range  from  the  baby  oyster  to  the  shark 
or  dog-fish,  from  the  toothsome,  semi-translucent 
white-rice  fish  to  the  green -boned  garupa. 

The  large  sea-going  junks  have  been  run  off 
the  coast  by  the  modern  steamer  ; but  fifty  years 
ago  they  voyaged  to  Siam  and  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments, Java,  Sumatra,  the  Moluccas,  the  Celebes, 
the  Eastern  Archipelago,  and  all  that  part  of  Asia. 
Some  centuries  ago  they  vied  with  us  in  the  West 
in  the  long  ocean  voyages  they  took  to  Ceylon, 
India,  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  the  Red  Sea. 

In  the  olden  days  these  large  sea-going  Chinese 
junks  came  down  from  Tientsin  and  the  north  of 
China  with  the  north-east  monsoon  to  Canton, 
where,  if  they  did  not  go  further  down  the  coast 
and  on  to  foreign  parts,  they  lay  for  months  till 
the  south-west  monsoon  was  ready  to  fill  their 

207 


John  Chinaman  Afloat 


enormous  sails  and  take  them  home  again.  They 
were  three-  or  four -masted,  with  great  jaws  in 
front,  gaping  mouth  at  bows,  two  eyes,  to  be  able 
to  see  their  way,  and  high  stern-sheets.  Such 
adventurous  voyages  are  now  things  of  the  past. 

These  junks  looked  cumbrous  and  unwieldy,  and 
it  is  a wonder  they  weathered  the  dreadful  storms 
and  awful  typhoons  they  encountered  with  their 
large  matting  sails.  At  such  times  the  tendency 
was  for  every  sailor  to  become  captain,  and  the 
roar  of  the  storm  was  supplemented  by  the  pande- 
monium on  board,  where  every  man  was  shouting 
orders,  and  all  was  confusion  and  clamour. 

Not  all  these  adventures  on  distant  voyages  were 
for  material  advantage.  Some  who  travelled  to 
these  far  regions  were  Buddhist  monks,  who 
journeyed  to  the  sacred  places  of  their  faith  and 
braved  seas  and  storms  to  bring  the  treasures 
of  their  sacred  writings  and  relics  of  Buddha  to 
the  land  they  were  conquering  for  their  religion. 
The  even  greater  dangers  of  the  overland  route 
to  India  were  encountered  ; Alpine  heights  scaled, 
precipices  crossed,  and  deserts  traversed,  where, 
in  addition  to  the  physical  risks  met,  the  travellers’ 
minds  were  tortured  by  the  calls  of  demons  who 
bewitched  them  to  their  destruction. 

John  Chinaman  makes  a good  sailor  : he  does 
not  get  drunk  ; he  is  content  with  a smaller  wage 
than  the  Englishman  ; to  him  a hard  board  is 
a softer  mattress  than  a hair  one,  or  even  one  of 
down  ; he,  as  a rule,  is  quiet  and  well-behaved 

208 


Chinese  Sailors 


when  he  is  not  treated  with  impudence,  super- 
ciliousness, and  injustice  ; he  obeys  orders  and 
does  what  he  is  told.  Not  only  are  Chinese  largely 
employed  on  the  coasting  steamers  and  on  the 
ocean  liners  as  carpenters  and  washermen,  but 
on  the  private  lines  as  sailors. 

Quite  a number  are  to  be  found  in  the  East 
End  of  London,  awaiting  ships  to  take  them  home 
again.  A number  of  Chinese  shops  are  estab- 
lished for  their  headquarters  in  or  about  Rat- 
cliffe  Highway,  and  smaller  numbers  are  to  be 
found  in  Liverpool,  where  a good  many  Chinese 
find  employment  as  washermen. 

Some  of  the  vessels  afloat  belong  to  the  Govern- 
ment ; and  history  records  not  a few  expeditions 
beyond  the  seas,  to  gain  Formosa  and  fight  Japan. 
One  that  essayed  to  discover  the  famed  Isles  of 
the  Blest  never  returned  from  the  quest. 

The  China  Merchants  Company  is  one  of 
the  latest  developments,  following  the  exploit- 
ing of  the  Chinese  coasts  and  rivers  by  foreign- 
owned  steamers.  Its  boats  run  up  and  down  the 
sea-coasts  and  up  some  of  China’s  giant  rivers, 
though  this  company  has  not,  like  the  Japanese, 
or,  for  that  matter,  their  own  ancestors  of  ancient 
and  mediaeval  days,  penetrated  to  the  Far  West 
yet.  The  boats  are  captained  and  officered  by 
Englishmen.  Some  Chinese  merchants  own 
steamers  ; especially  is  this  the  case  in  the 
Straits  Settlements.  Several  hundreds  at  least  of 
Chinese-owned  steam-launches  ply  on  the  inland 

209 


John  Chinaman  Afloat 


waters  of  the  Empire.  These  are  entirely  manned 
and  run  by  the  Chinese. 

Large  rafts  slowly  float  down  the  rivers, 
managed  by  a few  men,  who,  spending  days  and 
weeks  on  the  frail  structure  of  logs  and  beams, 
bring  them  down  from  far  up-country  where  the 
forest-destroying  propensities  of  John  Chinaman 
have  not  yet  exterminated  nearly  all  the  masses  of 
trees,  as  is  the  case  nearer  the  coast.  Huts  built 
on  the  moving  mass  shelter  the  primitive  naviga- 
tors, as,  borne  by  current  and  stream,  they  navigate 
the  hundreds  of  miles  to  the  towns  and  cities  where 
the  rafts  are  broken  up. 

At  every  landing-place  and  every  street-end 
that  abuts  on  the  river  in  a great  city,  and 
wherever  there  is  a chance  of  picking  up  a 
passenger  on  the  river  front,  there  is  to  be  found 
— shall  we  call  it? — a stand  for  little  boats.  The 
boat -women  who  “ man  ” them  are  busy  chopping 
up  rounds  of  bamboo  into  sticks  for  incense-sticks, 
or  engaged  in  something  else  to  add  to  the  family 
income  when  no  fares  are  forthcoming.  When- 
ever a probable  passenger  appears  in  sight, 
approaching  the  water’s  edge,  a perfect  uproar 
arises  as  the  women  rush  to  the  bows  of  their 
little  boats,  beckoning  to  the  prospective  passenger. 

As  soon  as  they  learn  where  the  fare  wishes 
to  go,  they  name  their  price.  A la  Chinois,  they 
ask  more  than  they  expect  to  get,  and  then  follows 
a noisy  bargaining.  The  intending  hirer  offers 
less  than  he  is  willing  to  give.  One  boat-woman 


210 


Hiring  a Boat 


will  drop  her  price  a trifle,  when  all  the  others 
follow  suit  ; and  so  it  goes  on,  one  side  lowering 
its  terms  and  the  other  raising  theirs,  till  finally 
the  traveller  accepts  some  figure  named,  steps  on 
to  one  of  the  boats,  and  then,  as  if  by  magic, 
the  hubbub  instantly  ceases,  and  quiet  succeeds 
the  babel  and  uproar. 


211 


CHAPTER  XVII 


How  John  Chinaman  Travels 


HE  modes  of  travelling  in  the  south  of  China 


are  by  boat  and  chair  ; midway  up  the 
coast  wheelbarrows  come  into  use  ; and  further 
up  in  the  north,  ponies,  donkeys,  or  mules,  litters, 
and  carts.  Jinrickshas  ply  for  hire  in  a few 
places  where  roads  are  roads,  and  not  narrow 
tracks — such,  for  example,  as  in  Hong  Kong, 
Shanghai,  Hankow,  and  Macao.  They  are  found, 
too,  in  some  purely  Chinese  cities,  which  those 
places  are  not — notably  in  Nanking,  where  a broad 
carriage-road  has  been  made. 

The  beginning  of  a network  of  railways  is  being 
cast  over  the  land,  in  the  way  of  a few  main  lines 
and  some  local  ones.  Though  John  Chinaman 
does  not  evacuate  the  cities  and  towns  in  summer 
and  take  by  storm  the  seaside,  fly  to  the  moun- 
tains, or  dash  off  on  excursions  by  the  hundreds 
and  thousands,  he  yet  does  a good  deal  of 
travelling,  or  at  least  some  Chinese  do.  Travellers 
on  business  are  numerous.  If  a dollar  or  two 


212 


Travel  Times 


can  be  made,  they  set  forth  eagerly  in  the  pursuit 
of  wealth  ; the  market -towns  are  invaded  on 
market-days  by  hosts  of  those  who  have  things 
to  sell,  or  who  wish  to  buy. 

But  the  great  time  to  see  a regular  exodus 
from  cities  and  towns  is  the  season  for  visiting 
the  tombs,  in  April  especially.  Then  the  boats 
are  crowded  with  passengers  ; every  route  home 
is  thronged  with  travellers  ; the  hill-sides  are  black 
with  descendants  and  relatives  of  the  dead,  busily 
employed  in  worshipping  at  the  graves  on  these 
heights. 

If  John  Chinaman  falls  ill,  and  a few  doses  of 
medicine  do  not  restore  him  again,  he  slips  off 
home  to  the  country,  where  he  can  die  amongst 
his  friends,  or  be  revivified  by  his  native  air. 
Thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  have  to  travel 
to  examination  centres,  and  on  reaching  the  higher 
stages  of  their  education,  even  go  to  Peking  from 
distant  parts  of  the  Empire.  Officials  have  to 
travel  from  one  end  of  the  Empire  to  the  other 
to  take  up  their  appointments.  Insurrection  and 
rebellion  send  troops  from  one  province  to  another. 
Theatrical  troupes  tour  the  country  with  vessels 
laden  with  their  scanty  scenery,  properties,  and 
multitudinous  and  gorgeous  robes,  costumes,  and 
apparel. 

Unless  he  is  a high  official,  with  trunks  by 
the  score  for  wives,  and  children,  and  servants, 
and  attendants,  John  Chinaman’s  travelling 
arrangements  are  simple.  Like  the  man  in 

213  p 


How  John  Chinaman  Travels 


Scripture,  he  takes  up  his  bed  and  walks.  The 
bed  consists  of  a mat,  a leathery  papier-mach6, 
hard  pillow,  or  even  an  earthenware  one,  a red 
blanket,  and  a cotton-stuffed  quilt  ; but  in  summer 
even  less.  He  may  also  take  a teapot,  some  cakes, 
perhaps  a brass  basin,  a small  towel,  a quantity 
of  clothes,  a pipe  and  a fan.  The  bedding  is 
in  a.  roll,  and  the  rest  in  a large  basket  or  small 
trunk. 

Arrived  on  the  boat  or  steamer,  he  selects  an 
eligible  spot,  spreads  out  his  mat,  takes  off  his 
shoes,  and  squats  or  reclines,  while  the  hours  slip 
by  unheeded,  gets  hot  water  to  wipe  over  his  face 
and  brush  his  teeth  in  the  morning,  takes  his 
meals  on  board,  and  generally  enjoys  himself  in 
a placid  manner,  smoking,  chatting  to  his  fellow- 
passengers,  or  listening  to  the  quack  who  harangues 
cleverly  and  eloquently  by  the  hour,  or  he  reads, 
or  listlessly  does  nothing — an  art  the  Oriental  can 
carry  to  perfection.  The  sedan-chair  is  a more 
expensive  mode  of  travel,  and  not  every  one  can 
afford  it. 

It  is  a sight  near  a city  or  market-town  to 
see  men,  women,  and  children  hastening  to  the 
former,  or  carrying  marketable  articles  to  the 
latter,  as  they  walk  with  their  half-trot  along  the 
high  banks  of  the  river  ; for  John  Chinaman  can 
go  at  a good  amble  when  loaded  with  wares,  or 
carrying  his  own  luggage  on  a journey.  But  the 
gentleman,  and  occasionally  the  lower  classes  of 
society,  indulge  in  the  chair. 

214 


The  Chair 


The  mandarin  is  carried  in  stately  style,  and 
the  higher  his  rank  the  grander  the  pomp  and 
circumstances  surrounding  his  retinue.  The  very 
highest  in  official  position  may  sport  eight  bearers  ; 
but  the  majority  may  not  aspire  to  more  than 
four,  while  the  mere  gentleman  has  perforce  to 
be  content  with  two  or  three.  The  insignia  carried 
in  the  procession,  the  number  of  the  retinue,  the 
colour  of  his  chair,  as  well  as  his  uniform, 
&c.,  all  proclaim  the  greatness  of  the  “ great 
man.” 

If  an  official  promenade  does  not  require  a 
measured  tread  and  slow,  the  movement  is  a 
gliding  one,  as  in  Canton,  where  chair-carrying  is 
an  art.  With  an  ordinary  individual  in  the  city  the 
carriers  keep  up  a constant  succession  of  cries, 
to  clear  their  way  in  the  crowded  streets,  or  warn 
their  fellow  in  the  shafts  behind  of  steps  and 
obstructions,  while  responses  are  echoed  back. 
These  sing-song  cries  are  added  to  by  admoni- 
tions to  careless  wayfarers  and  to  other  chair- 
bearers. 

14  Mind  your  back  ! ” 44  To  the  left  ! ” 44  Both 

of  us  to  the  left  1 ” 44  Both  to  right  ! ” 44  Two 

steps  down  ! ” These  and  similar  cries  and  warn- 
ings punctuate  the  whole  transit  through  the 
narrow  lanes  that  serve  for  streets  when  they  are 
thronged  with  the  surging  crowd.  The  most  care- 
ful edging  or  backing  into  shops  is  required  when 
one  chair  meets  another  under  such  circumstances. 
The  passing  of  vessels  in  the  Suez  Canal  is  nothing 

215 


How  John  Chinaman  Travels 


to  it,  and  traffic  is  suspended  while  one  chair 
scrapes  past  the  other. 

In  country  districts,  or  for  country  excursions, 
the  sedan-chair  presents  a striking  contrast  to  its 
superior  city  cousin  ; it  is  then  town  versus  country 
with  a vengeance.  The  former  is  fairly  comfort- 
able, with  a cushion  to  sit  on,  and  possibly  one 
for  the  back,  albeit  the  cushions  are  almost  as 
hard  as  the  soft  side  of  a board.  There  are 
wooden  shelves  at  the  sides  for  the  arms,  and 
a loose  slip  of  polished  wood  is  ready  also  to  be 
placed  in  front  of  one,  to  reach  from  side  to  side 
— from  one  arm-rest  to  the  other,  to  rest  one’s 
elbows  on.  Thus  the  passenger  is  enabled  to  lean 
forward  and  better  view  the  constant  panoramic 
scene  before  him. 

A constant  kaleidoscopic  transmutation  takes 
place  as  the  animated  scene  dissolves  itself  and 
the  living  cinematographic  display  unfolds.  Long 
vistas  of  gorgeous  signboards  in  gold,  vermilion, 
and  green  open  out  in  continual  succession,  a feast 
of  colour.  The  bright  rays  of  a fiery  tropical  sun 
are  tempered  by  loose  boards  or  trellis-work,  or 
awnings  covering  the  shaded  streets.  Glints  of 
sunlight  percolate,  settling  in  radiant  gleams  on 
any  non-absorbent  object,  and  relieving  from 
gloom  anything  they  touch,  though  the  general 
effect  in  many  a street  is  that  of  a shaded  half- 
toned  light. 

It  is  a bustling  scene  that  meets  the  eye  as 
one  is  whisked  through  some  main  thoroughfare. 

216 


A PKRFOR.MING  MONKKV 


Through  Crowded  Streets 

A constant  stream  is  flowing  along  its  narrow  con- 
fines. Gentlemen  in  silk  robes  of  tender  hues  of 
cerulean  blue  and  satin  jackets  gleaming  in  purple 
and  other  colours,  are  jostled  by  coolies  carrying 
agricultural  produce  and  manures  for  the  fields, 
and  elbowed  by  fishmongers  with  live  fish  in  tubs 
of  water.  Now  a string  of  blind  beggars  meanders 
through  the  thick  traffic,  making  for  shop  after 
shop,  to  extort  by  their  monotonous  whine  a stray 
cash  or  two  ; while  a sturdier  rowdyish  scamp, 
with  self-inflicted  blood-stained  wounds,  demands 
alms  with  impudence  and  assurance.  Anon  a 
wreck  of  humanity  with  festering  hands  and  fast- 
rotting,  toeless  feet  rubs  shoulders  with  the 
elegantly  dressed  merchant,  who  loathes  the  sight 
of  the  distorted  and  swollen  face  of  the  dreaded 
leper.  The  burden -carriers  of  all  kinds  and  classes 
push  by,  heralding  their  advent  by  their  twofold 
cries,  some  to  clear  the  path  before  them,  and 
others  to  ease  the  weight  of  their  heavy  loads. 
Those  in  pairs  carry  on  a constant  duet,  as  the 
hinder  man  responds  with  grunts  to  the  calls  of 
the  one  in  front. 

It  seems  a strange  medley  ; for  footpath  and 
roadway  are  all  thrown  into  one.  The  whole  road- 
way is  a side-walk  or  roadway  or  path  free  to  all, 
pedestrians  and  riders,  the  empty-handed  and  the 
heavily  burdened,  in  the  two  streams  that  are 
setting  in  opposite  ways.  There  are  no  wheeled 
vehicles  in  the  south,  except  rarely  a stonemason’s 
primitive  wheelbarrow,  creaking  with  every  revolu- 

217 


How  John  Chinaman  Travels 


tion  of  the  wheel,  in  protest  at  the  slabs  of  granite 
on  it.  And,  wonder  of  wonders,  of  late  years  there 
has  come  the  bicycle,  ridden  by  some  young 
Chinaman,  with  queue  tucked  into  his  leggings, 
and  piloting  his  course  through  the  surging  crowd 
with  infinite  care  and  constant  ringing  of  bell. 
Fancy  a bicycle  running  on  a London  sidewalk, 
and  the  reader  will  have  some  idea  of  what  this 
means.  Narrow  as  the  way  is,  congested  with 
the  streaming  multitudes,  yet  its  boundaries  are 
encroached  on  at  both  sides  by  the  overflowing 
shops,  especially  the  grocers’  and  rice-dealers’, 
whose  baskets  of  grain  cross  the  thresholds  and 
infringe  on  the  streets. 

Nor  is  this  all,  for  the  city  traveller’s  chair 
almost  brushes  over  the  petty  trader’s  little  store 
of  goods,  which  are  set  out  in  tempting  array  on 
the  long  stone  slabs  which  pave  the  side  of  the 
streets  where  vacant  from  the  overflowing  shops. 
Here  the  seller  of  small  brochures,  ballad-books, 
does  a good  trade  with  his  red  and  brown  paper 
pamphlets  spread  on  the  stones;  or  hung  in  rows  on 
the  blue  brick  house  wall  behind. 

But  the  neatest  and  most  attractive  stall  is  that 
of  the  petty  curio-dealer,  with  his  little  array  of 
odds  and  ends,  bric-k-brac,  old  curiosities,  objects 
of  vertu,  a string  of  centuries-old  cash,  a few 
coins  two  thousand  years  old,  to  empty  the  purse 
of  the  numismatist,  vases  which  make  the  con- 
noisseur’s mouth  water,  an  ancient  metal  mirror. 
When  the  space  will  allow,  this  curio -dealer  will 

218 


Street  Scenes 


blossom  out  into  a regular  stall-holder,  with  his 
tables  laden  with  good  things,  and  others  of  no 
particular  value  at  all. 

In  some  streets,  where  family  houses  present  a 
plain  stone  and  brick  front  and  only  one  doorway, 
and  where  the  shops  are  not  greedy  of  the  spaces 
in  front,  there  is  a perfect  open-air  market  of  wares 
spread  out  for  sale  at  the  sides  of  the  streets — 
anything  and  everything  almost  to  tempt  the 
passer-by. 

Such  are  a few  of  the  glimpses  of  Chinese  life 
that  the  traveller  in  the  sedan-chair  sees  as  he 
passes  through  the  busy  streets,  crowded  with  the 
pedestrians  on  business  or  pleasure  bent,  while 
on  either  side  the  depths  of  the  shaded  and  cool- 
looking shops,  with  their  varied  wares  of  all 
descriptions,  are  more  or  less  visible  to  the  rapid 
coup  d'oeil  as  one  hurries  by. 

One  can  enjoy  all  this  in  the  comparative  com- 
fort and  luxury  of  a city  chair  ; but  the  country 
chairs  are  distinctly  uncomfortable.  Made  of  hard 
bamboo,  with  ne’er  a cushion,  hard  though  it  might 
be,  to  ease  the  aching  bones,  one  rides  for  hours 
perched  up  on  the  level  of  the  almost  naked  coolies’ 
shoulders,  now  leaning  forward  to  relieve  oneself 
of  the  fatigue  of  half -lying  back  while  shaken 
along  what  by  the  greatest  stretch  of  courtesy 
are  styled  footpaths,  the  like  of  which  one  never 
sees  in  England,  except  it  be  sheep -tracks  on 
mountain  heights. 

In  places  the  so-called  road  is  better,  though 
219 


How  John  Chinaman  Travels 


narrow,  and  it  may  be  at  times  paved  with  slabs 
of  granite,  which  originally  were  placed  level — 
at  least  one  must  give  that  amount  of  credit  to  the 
makers  of  the  road  ; but  now  in  many  cases 
sloping  at  different  angles  and  presenting  edges 
often,  instead  of  smooth  surfaces  and  joints.  To  a' 
certain  extent  this  is  even  the  case  inside  the  cities. 
In  our  own  lands,  if  tired  from  a walk,  it  is 
generally  the  length  of  the  way  that  has  fatigued 
us.  But  the  wayfarer  on  a Chinese  street  or  road 
finds  the  unevenness  is  what  tires  him,  for  on  a 
return  from  a walk  one  feels  feet  and  legs  wearied 
by  the  constant  surprises  of  level,  and  the  vain 
attempts  to  adapt  oneself  to  such  an  unusual  state 
of  the  constantly  unexpected.  This  irregularity 
of  the  paving  proves  much  more  wearing  than 
the  length  of  the  walk  ; for  at  nearly  every  foot- 
fall the  steps  have  to  be  adapted  to  the  inequalities 
of  the  surface,  as  well  as  to  the  slipperiness  in 
certain  streets  leading  to  the  water-side,  or  from 
or  to  a well,  pwing  to  the  spillings  from  the  overfull 
buckets  of  the  water-carriers. 

In  the  country  there  is  little  or  no  attempt  to 
carry  the  road  along  in  a straight  course.  It  winds 
and  meanders  and  winds  back  in  a most  wearisome 
manner  ; nor  is  there  any  grading  attempted  ; it 
rises  and  falls  abruptly  and  without  any  warning, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  ground-surface. 
Now  it  rises  on  a bank,  and  now  it  sinks  again  to 
a lower  level.  It  widens  at  times,  and  then  narrows 
again.  In  the  north,  for  the  vehicular  traffic,  the 

220 


The  Wheelbarrow 


roads  have  to  be  broader  than  in  the  south,  where 
there  are  generally  no  wheeled  vehicles  except  the 
rough  quarryman’s  wheelbarrow. 

In  the  central  coastal  regions  the  wheelbarrow 
is  a common  mode  of  conveyance,  not  only  for 
the  passenger,  but  for  bales  of  goods,  which  are 
piled  up  on  this  awkward,  clumsy-looking  con- 
veyance in  a most  wondrous  manner.  The  old 
rhyme  says  : — 

“The  roads  were  so  muddy 
And  the  lanes  were  so  narrow 
I took  my  wife  home  on  a wheelbarrow.” 

But  in  Shanghai  and  neighbourhood,  as  well  as  in 
and  around  other  cities,  this  curious  mode  of 
transport  is  largely  used  by  both  men  and  women. 

Like  almost  everything  Chinese,  however,  the 
wheelbarrow  is  entirely  different  from  the  English 
one,  and  the  name  (no  other  is  available)  does  not 
convey  an  idea  of  the  structure  mounted  on  the 
wheel.  The  men  and  women  are  not  bundled  into 
the  box-like  carrying  portion  of  an  English  wheel- 
barrow, like  so  many  goods,  with  their  legs  dang- 
ling over  the  edges  ; for  the  very  good  reason  that 
that  portion  of  the  wheelbarrow  is  entirely  wanting 
in  the  Chinese  distant  cousin  to  the  English  wheel- 
barrow. 

To  begin  with,  the  two  are  alike  in  having  two 
shafts  or  handles  and  one  wheel  ; but  there  the 
resemblance  ends,  and  as  regards  the  wheel  itself 
the  similarity  is  more  in  name  than  in  reality  ; 

221 


How  John  Chinaman  Travels 


for  the  wheel  is  in  the  centre  of  the  machine.  On 
both  sides  of  the  wheel  is  built  up  a structure 
which  affords  not  only  a seat  on  each  side  for 
from  two  to  four  persons  to  sit  on,  but  also  a back 
to  rest  against.  The  whole  of  this  portion  of  the 
wheelbarrow  is  made  of  rails  or  open  woodwork, 
and  besides  the  projecting  seats,  it  forms  a frame- 
work over  the  centre  wheel.  A cord  hangs  down 
on  each  side  below  the  seat,  for  the  passengers  to 
rest  their  feet  on  or  hitch  their  heels  into,  if  they 
have  any,  for  the  Chinese  ordinary  shoe  has  but 
a rudimentary  heel,  if  any  at  all. 

The  wheelbarrow-man  has,  one  would  think,  a 
hard  time  of  it,  especially  when  half  a dozen  mill- 
girls  go  out  for  a ride.  He  holds  the  handles,  and 
a strap  across  the  shoulders  eases  some  of  the 
weight.  His  vehicle  needs  careful  guiding  and 
steering  and  balancing,  as  it  is  rather  a ticklish 
craft,  especially  when  it  is  piled  high  with  bales 
and  bundles  and  packages  of  goods.  He  is  in  an 
awkward  predicament  when  one  falls  off,  or  nearly 
so.  The  progress  is  slow  with  a heavy  burden— a 
rapid  foot-pace — and  is  all  right  for  the  passenger, 
except  when  bumping  down  two  or  three  steps. 
The  European,  however,  after  one  trial,  to  be  able 
to  say  he  has  ridden  in  a wheelbarrow,  prefers 
the  easier  and  more  rapid  ricksha,  where  the  man 
runs  along  with  this  miniature  gig,  and  rapidly 
reaches  his  destination. 

In  Shanghai,  with  its  broad  roads  in  the  foreign 
concessions,  the  Chinaman  copies  the  foreigner  in 

222 


Railways 

his  luxurious  carriage,  more  comfortable  than  any- 
thing John  Chinaman  has  evolved  for  travel  in  the 
long  ages  past,  and  conforms  so  much  to  foreign 
customs  as  to  take  his  wives,  sons,  and  daughters 
out  for  a ride  with  him.  The  streets  are  too 
narrow  yet  in  most  Chinese  cities  in  the  central 
and  southern  parts  of  the  Empire  for  wheeled 
traffic. 

The  railway,  though  long  resisted,  has  at  length 
penetrated  to  the  Central  Empire,  and  if  one 
chooses,  one  may  ride  all  the  way  from  London 
(with  the  exception  of  crossing  the  English 
Channel)  vi£  Siberia  to  Peking  and  Tientsin  in 
the  north  of  China,  or  even  go  on  to  Hankow,  in 
the  centre  of  the  Empire,  and  before  a great  many 
years  even  down  to  the  south,  to  Canton  itself. 
From  Shanghai  one  may  go  to  Nanking,  one  of  the 
ancient  capitals  of  China.  From  Canton  one  may 
penetrate  by  rail  in  two  directions — west,  as  far 
as  Sam  Shui,  some  thirty  odd  miles,  or  north,  on 
the  slowly  being  constructed  Canton-Hankow  Rail- 
way, some  forty  or  fifty  miles,  though  every  year 
will  bring  a further  mileage  on  this  line  into  use. 
Hong  Kong  and  Canton  are  also  now  being 
connected  by  the  iron  road. 

China  finds  it  a slow  process  to  construct  rail- 
ways, when  she  insists  on  no  foreign  interference 
or  foreign  capital  being  subscribed  or  loaned  to 
her.  A further  trouble  in  the  south  has  been  that 
the  people  have  been  afraid  of  trusting  their  money 
to  Government  officials,  and  the  mandarins  have 

223 


How  John  Chinaman  Travels 


met  this  attitude  with  too  dictatorial  and  over- 
bearing a manner  in  their  dealings  with  the  people 
in  regard  to  railway  matters. 

Two  of  the  great  drawbacks  to  travel  in  China, 
however,  are  the  robber  and  the  pirate.  The 
danger  arising  from  them  is  at  times  considerable. 
The  author  has  had  three  friends  or  acquaintances 
killed  by  Chinese  pirates  at  different  times  and 
places,  but,  though  threatened  by  them  at  one  time, 
he  has  never  actually  been  attacked.  Certain  dis- 
tricts of  the  country  are  infested  with  them  ; at 
times  other  districts  will  go  immune  for  years 
from  their  depredations.  It  takes  considerably 
from  the  pleasure  of  travel  to  know  that  at  any 
moment  one  may  be  brought  face  to  face  with  a 
murderous  crew. 

Travel  by  native  houseboat  is  a most  pleasant 
though  slow  mode  of  proceeding  up  or  down  the 
rivers.  Land  journeys  entail  sleeping  in  native 
inns,  which  beggar  description  for  filth  and 
vermin. 


224 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

How  John  Chinaman  Dresses 

IMAGINE  a people  going  about  in  pyjamas  (and 
badju)  the  whole  day  long,  and  one  will  get 
some  idea  of  the  common  costume  of  the  male 
section  of  the  nation;  for  a loose,  baggy  pair  of 
trousers  and  a loose-fitting  jacket  form  the  basis 
of  Chinese  costume  for  both  men,  women,  boys, 
and  girls.  The  hot  climate  makes  everything 
tight-fitting  an  abomination,  except  when  the  long, 
hot,  weary  months  give  place  to  the  cool,  refreshing 
winter.  Then  what  are  called  collars  appear — i.e., 
something  in  the  way  of  a band  to  fasten  round 
the  neck,  primarily  to  keep  it  warm,  made  of  satin 
or  fur.  The  official  collar  is  a stiff  satin  one. 

But  to  go  back  to  jacket  and  trousers.  They 
are  even  wanting  altogether  at  times  in  the  case 
of  labourers,  when  a man  will  appear  in  a costume, 
or  rather  no  costume,  which  in  our  land  of  prudery 
would  land  him  in  the  hands  of  the  police  in  no 
time ; for  occasionally  a man  hard  at  work  pound- 
ing rice  or  carrying  it  through  the  streets  will  be 

225 


How  John  Chinaman  Dresses 


seen  with  nothing-  but  a loin-cloth  on.  It  is  a 
common  thing  in  hot  weather — in  fact,  most 
common — to  see  John  Chinaman  with  nothing  on 
but  his  trousers,  and  these,  if  he  is  busy  at  work, 
will  be  rolled  up  as  far  as  they  will  go.  Short 
trousers  are  even  made  that  scarce  reach  to  the 
knees.  The  shopkeeper,  especially  after  his  meal, 
will  often  be  seen  sitting  at  his  counter  in  this  airy 
costume,  or  want  of  costume.  In  fact,  it  is  the 
Chinese  equivalent  of  “ shirt-sleeves,”  but  the  shirt 
itself,  or  even  anything  below  it,  is  wanting;  and 
this,  from  the  heat  of  the  climate,  is  even  more 
often  resorted  to  than  the  throwing  off  of  a coat 
in  our  lands. 

There  is  no  indecency  in  all  this  want  of  dress, 
or  with  it;  for  the  Chinese  are  a modest  people, 
and  in  the  south,  even  on  the  hottest  summer’s  day, 
no  woman  would  appear  in  such  attire  or  want 
of  attire.  In  the  north,  where  the  heat  is  more 
excessive  for  a short  period  than  it  is  in  the  south, 
the  women  when  inside  the  courtyards  of  their 
houses  do  imitate  this  state  of  undress,  to  the  extent 
of  throwing  their  jackets  open  or  off.  Children, 
especially  in  country  districts,  may  be  seen  toddling 
about  with  absolutely  nothing  on ; but  after  a few 
years  of  this  freedom  from  the  trammels  of  dress, 
they  have  to  conform  to  a semblance  of  modesty, 
and  appear  properly  clothed,  according  to  the 
Oriental  idea  of  propriety.  In  the  case  of  the  girls 
quite  enough  is  put  on  to  satisfy  even  the  Occi- 
dental in  his  idea  of  what  is  right  and  fit. 

226 


Jackets 


All  sorts  of  changes  are  rung  upon  the  founda- 
tion idea  of  these  primitive  upper  and  nether 
garments,  and  in  the  case  of  the  humble  classes  of 
society  a multiplicity  of  these  garments  is  piled 
on,  or  peeled  off,  layer  after  layer,  as  the  exigencies 
of  the  weather  demand.  Half  a dozen  jackets  of 
one  sort  or  another,  and  several  pairs  of  trousers 
may  be  used  to  keep  out  the  cold  of  winter.  A 
long  gabardine  or  robe  is  the  frock-coat  of  the 
mass  of  the  people,  and  so  common  is  blue  its 
colour,  especially  in  summer,  that  a book  has  been 
written  with  the  by  no  means  inappropriate  title 
of  The  Land  of  the  Blue  Gown.1  Often  noth- 
ing is  worn  over  this  ; but  a jacket,  when  the 
weather  requires  it,  or,  in  the  case  of  well-to-do, 
well-dressed  people,  a Chinese  waistcoat  may  be 
seen  over  it.  In  accordance  with  the  Chinese 
general  rule  of  everything  being  done  in  an 
opposite  way  to  our  own,  the  waistcoat  is  an  upper 
garment. 

But  to  return  again  to  the  jacket.  It  generally 
buttons  round  under  the  shoulder  or  arm,  as  does 
the  long  gown  mentioned  above,  thus  giving  a 
lapel,  which  does  not,  however,  fold  back.  But 
there  are  jackets  and  jackets.  Some  are  close- 
fitting,  and  one  variety  of  these  has  buttons  all 
the  way  down  the  front  worthy  of  an  English 
“ buttons,”  though  Chinese  buttons,  as  a rule,  are 
more  modest  than  in  the  West.  They  are  often  of 
small  cord,  knotted  into  a conventional  shape. 

1 By  Mrs.  Archibald  Little. 

227 


How  John  Chinaman  Dresses 


Round  brass  ones  are  also  common,  and  different 
ornamental  styles  are  used,  the  boat-girls  delight- 
ing in  half-dollars  or  ten -cent  pieces. 

Double  jackets — i.e.,  jackets  lined  or  padded 
with  cotton-wool — serve  to  keep  John  Chinaman 
warm  in  the  wintry  blasts,  fresh  from  the  ice  and 
snow  fields  of  Siberia  and  Manchuria,  when  he 
cannot  afford  furs.  Of  these,  if  his  purse  allows 
him,  he  has  a good  variety,  and  some  of  them 
cheap.  Unyeaned  lambs’  wool  is  a favourite  ; 
foxes’  fur  and  other  furs  give  him  a variety  of 
choice  and  price. 

Once  more  we  hark  back  to  the  jackets.  It 
is  not  every  one  that  wears  a waistcoat,  but  it 
looks  as  if  the  original  John  Chinaman  who  de- 
veloped the  idea  took  his  jacket,  cut  off  the  sleeves 
well  out  from  the  body  of  the  jacket,  leaving 
gaping  armholes,  shortened  it,  and  tightened  it 
round  his  body  (though  it  is  still  loose  enough  in 
its  fit),  and  then  had  the  original  type  from  which 
the  future  waistcoats  were  developed.  A sleeve- 
less, waistcoat-like  jacket  is  sometimes  worn,  with 
nothing  else  on  the  body.  It  occasionally  buttons 
down  the  front,  as  some  of  the  jackets  do.  The 
woman’s  jacket  is  longer  than  the  man’s,  and 
buttons  under  the  shoulder  and  arm. 

As  to  the  trousers,  they  flap  about  loose,  looser 
than  our  Jack  Tars’  round  the  ankle,  and  looser 
than  any  self-respecting  Briton  would  wear  his 
fearfully  and  wonderfully  made  pyjamas  of  all 
colours  of  the  rainbow.  This  frivolity  of  taste 

228 


Colour  in  Dress 


would  shock  sober  John  Chinaman,  who  has  his 
own  judgment  of  good  taste  and  his  own  gamut 
of  colours  to  choose  from.  He  is  not  a savage, 
to  be  tickled  by  gaudy  tints,  though  he  brings 
blue  and  green,  in  imitation  of  Nature,  into  juxta- 
position in  his  paintings  and  in  his  dress  often 
enough  to  shock  our  preconceived  notions  of  the 
harmonious  blending  or  contrast  of  colours. 

Many  an  English  manufacturer  in  the  past  has 
thought  gaudy  cottons  and  ginghams,  which  would 
set  an  African  savage  wild  with  joy,  were  the 
very  things  to  touch  a grave  Chinaman’s  heart 
with  delight;  instead  of  which  they  are  received 
with  disgust.  A parallel  mistake  was  made  by  a 
foreign  firm  who  sent  out  goloshes  to  China  with 
the  names  of  the  makers  or  importers  stamped  in 
Chinese  characters  on  the  soles.  No  Chinese  will 
throw  anything  with  writing  on  to  the  ground  or 
street,  where  it  would  be  trodden  underfoot.  The 
printed  or  written  word  is  looked  upon  as  almost 
sacrosanct. 

But  as  to  colour  in  dress,  it  must  be  said  that 
tastes  differ  in  different  parts  of  Chinatf.  White, 
being  mourning,  is  only  for  underwear  in  the  south 
of  China,  except  in  the  case  of  amahs  (nurses)  for 
foreign  children,  when,  in  deference  to  the  wishes 
of  their  English,  German,  or  American  mistresses, 
they  put  on  white  jackets,  to  keep  the  children’s 
clothing  from  being  dyed  blue  with  the  garments 
they  would  otherwise  wear.  A man  may  occa- 
sionally be  seen  with  a white  jacket  on ; but  he 

229  Q 


How  John  Chinaman  Dresses 


is  not  properly  dressed.  An  exception  must  be 
made  to  this  broad  statement,  for  a white  grass- 
cloth  long  robe  is  quite  en  regie  for  a teacher  or 
other  gentleman,  and  white  sheepskin  furs  are 
worn.  Thus  it  would  appear  that  material  makes 
all  the  difference.  Blue  is  to  a large  extent  a 
predominant  colour;  but  as  Nature  is  profuse  in 
her  scheme  of  colours  in  the  gorgeous  East,  so 
man  vies  with  her  in  her  profusion  and  brilliancy 
of  hues,  and  with  prodigal  hand  he  dresses  himself 
in  glorious  tints. 

In  England  men  have  given  up  the  con- 
test with  women  as  to  who  shall  deck  them- 
selves the  more  profusely  in  the  colours  of  the 
rainbow,  and  retired  in  favour  of  the  fairer  sex, 
content  that  they  should  have  the  monopoly  of 
adornment.  In  the  Far  East  man  still  retains 
the  supremacy,  though  woman  runs  him  close  in 
this  respect.  The  long  robes  of  gentlemen  are  of 
many  colours — not  that  a Joseph’s  coat  of  many 
colours  is  worn  by  men,  though  children  often 
wear  a patchwork  jacket  which  reminds  one  of 
that  Scripture  character.  Each  garment  is  gener- 
ally a monotone  with  men.  The  robe  will  be 
of  one  of  the  many  shades  of  purple,  or  of  blue, 
or  of  pure  white ; while  brown  and  many  other 
shades  also  appear  in  the  wardrobe  of  a Chinese 
gentleman.  His  jacket  over  his  robe  will  be  of 
some  other  colour  ; so  that  the  sight  of  a 
crowd  of  well-dressed  Chinese  is  a feast  for 
the  eyes . 


230 


Splendour  and  Poverty 

The  magnificence  of  a mandarin’s  a!pparel  is 
a sight  to  behold,  glistening  in  the  richest  colours 
as  regards  his  robes,  and  his  insignia  emblazoned 
thereon,  embroidered  in  gold  and  the  softest  floss 
silks,  while  his  limpet-shaped  hat  crowned  with 
his  button  of  precious  stone  is  ornamented  with 
his  single  or  double-eyed  peacock  feather,  and 
the  red  cords  hanging  over  his  hat  from  the  apex. 
As  a set-off  to  all  this  gleaming  glory  are  seen  the 
severe  hues  of  his  black  satin  collar  and  official 
black  satin  boots  with  white  felt  soles.  Round 
his  neck  hangs  a costly  string  of  beads,  originally 
derived  from  the  Buddhist  rosary. 

Among  the  labouring  classes,  in  addition  to  the 
prevalent  blue,  a rusty  brown  is  much  esteemed. 
With  all  the  brilliancy  of  colouring,  the  exigencies 
of  restricted  means  and  economy  cause  many  a 
shabby  attire  to  be  seen.  The  queue,  hanging 
down  the  jacket  or  gown  of  the  man,  gives  a 
greasy,  broad  mark  down  the  back  of  the  garment, 
and  the  Chinaman  is  not  always  particular  as  to 
the  perfect  cleanliness  of  the  silk  and  satin  gar- 
ments he  wears.  The  ordinary  labouring  man  in 
China  does  not  perhaps  look  so  dirty  as  the 
Englishman  in  a similar  state  often  does  (though 
there  is  sometimes  not  much  to  choose  between 
them),  partly  due  to  there  being  less  to  get  dirty 
and  nasty,  except  in  winter.  The  ordinary  China- 
man is  not  so  careful  of  the  cleanly  look  of  his 
clothes  as  many  among  us  are;  but  the  common 
garments  are  often  washed.  Many  Chinese  appear 

231 


How  John  Chinaman  Dresses 


less  to  appreciate  the  advantages  of  a good  wash, 
even  in  what  is  considered  superior  society,  though 
others  are  as  clean  as  one  could  wish;  but  purse 
and  climate  are  rather  against  it. 

There  are  clean  Chinese,  as  clean  and  sweet 
as  any  man.  But  the  Chinese  beggar  is  caked 
with  dirt  and  crawling  with  vermin.  Indeed, 
vermin  are  often  looked  upon  as  a necessary  evil, 
a condition  of  things  which  cannot  be  avoided.  A 
Chinese  preacher  enunciated  the  opinion  that  these 
parasites  on  the  Chinese  body  were  sent  or  per- 
mitted by  Providence  as  a trial  for  patience,  so 
that  virtue  might  have  her  perfect  work.  A not 
uncommon  sight  in  the  streets  is  to  see  two  Chinese 
coolies  (or  other  Chinese  of  that  class)  engaged 
in  the  interesting  pursuit  of  these  preyers  on  human 
kind.  Garments  are  produced  by  the  lower  classes 
in  the  open  air,  and,  evidently  with  no  sense  of 
shame,  are  given  a careful  scrutiny  along  the  seams 
and  other  likely  hiding-places  to  discover  the 
hidden  haunts  of  the  tormentors.  Bed-boards  are 
also  brought  out  into  the  street  and  thumped  end- 
wise on  the  pavement,  to  dislodge  those  which  hide 
in  the  cracks  during  the  day  and  plague  man 
during  the  night. 

When  a Chinese  puts  on  his  long  robe,  his 
trousers  are  generally  tucked  in  at  his  ankles,  and 
he  often  pulls  over  them  what  for  want  of  a better 
term  must  be  called  leggings.  These  reach  up  to 
his  thighs,  and  are  held  up  by  tapes;  tapes  again 
are  used  to  tie  them  at  the  ankles,  where  they 

232 


Washing-days 


narrow  down.  They  are  made  of  the  same 
materials  as  the  other  articles  of  dress. 

A wide-sleeved  jacket,  made  of  rich  satin  or 
fur,  is  often  put  on  over  the  long  robe  by  those 
who  can  afford  it.  It  is  thus  that  the  “ yellow 
jacket,”  bestowed  by  the  Emperor,  is  worn.  It 
is  the  equivalent  of  an  order  conferred  by  our 
Western  sovereigns. 

Saint  Monday  is  not  kept  in  China,  either  to 
resort  to  the  public-house — such  establishments  are 
not  known  in  China— nor  is  it  kept  sacred  to  the 
washtub  by  the  female  members  of  the  community. 
There  are  no  wash-houses,  no  laundries,  in  China. 
Every  man  his  own  washerman  might  not  be  an 
inappropriate  motto  for  the  Chinaman.  Given  a 
dirty  jacket  or  pair  of  trousers,  a wash-basin  or 
tub  (soap  was  immaterial,  but  is  now  in  general 
use,  and  even  made  in  China),  and  the  needful 
water,  and  in  a few  minutes,  after  much  sousing 
and  rinsing,  out  comes  a clean  garment,  a long 
bamboo  pole  stretched  from  roof  to  roof  or  propped 
up  by  two  bamboo  crutches,  and  the  sun  does  the 
rest.  If  necessary,  the  garment  is  starched,  but 
ironing  is  unknown  except  by  the  tailor,  who  has 
been  using  the  principle  of  the  American  charcoal 
iron  for  centuries,  probably  before  the  cute  Yankee 
discovered  it  in  the  West  and  patented  it. 
Mangling  is  also  unknown.  A garment  or  a pair 
of  socks  will  be  washed  as  need  requires.  There 
are  no  soiled-linen  bags,  or  dirty-clothes  baskets 
to  accumulate  a week’s  washing.  Of  course  among 

233 


How  John  Chinaman  Dresses 


the  rich  their  slave-girls  or  servant-women  are 
the  laundresses. 

In  China’  the  men  have  taken  to  the  stocking, 
the  women  to  the  sock,  and  the  ladies,  with  their 
bound  feet,  to  neither  the  one  nor  the  other;  they 
bandage  their  deformities.  The  servant- woman 
often  wears  blue  stockings.  The  “ blue-stocking  ” 
in  another  sense  of  the  term  is  almost  unknown, 
though  there  are  instances  of  her  in  history. 

The  native  footwear  next  the  foot  is  made  of 
cotton  cloth  sewn  together ; outside  are  the  slippers, 
rather  than  shoes,  of  cloth,  with  felt  soles.  There 
is,  however,  a considerable  variety  in  shoes  for 
men  and  women,  and  fashions  change  and  vary. 
There  are  many  naked  feet  to  be  seen;  in  fact, 
the  labouring  classes  go  barefooted  to  a large 
extent,  some  of  them  never  putting  on  a pair  of 
shoes  except  on  New  Year’s  Day  or  their  wedding 
day.  When  John  Chinaman  wears  a pair  of  shoes, 
he  delights  to  go  slipshod,  with  the  backs  of  the 
shoes  folded  down  under  his  heels,  and  so  to  clatter 
along  the  street  or  through  the  house.  Sandals  are 
largely  in  use  by  the  labourers ; especially  are 
they  worn  by  the  coolies.  They  are  made  of 
straw,  and  sometimes  consist  only  of  a thin  sole  of 
leather  fastened  to  the  foot. 

The  trousers  of  the  men  are  sometimes  tucked 
into  the  long  stockings  at  the  knees,  and  thus 
John  Chinaman  is  often  seen  in  knickerbockers. 
A long  tape  garter,  blue  or  black,  or  of  ornamented 
braid,  worn  below  the  knee,  keeps  the  stockings 

234 


THREE  WE  I.  E- DRESSED  I.ADIES  AND  SERVANT. 


Women’s  Raiment 


from  slipping  down.  The  women  do  not  wear 
garters.  Of  late  years  foreign  cotton  socks  are 
worn  by  some,  as  well  as  singlets  or  vests,  as  they 
are  called  nowadays  in  England. 

It  behoves  a mere  man  to  approach  the  mysteries 
of  woman’s  dress  with  awe ; but  let  it  be  said 
that  the  primary  idea  of  the  costume  of  woman  in 
China  is  the  same  as  man’s.  In  fact,  women 
wear  the  breeches ; so  the  English  dictionary’s 
definition  of  those  articles  of  apparel  as  “ a 
garment  worn  by  men  ” is  not  applicable  to  the 
Far  East.  The  higher  classes  of  society  disguise 
the  fact  when  “ dressed,”  by  wearing  flaps  of  richly 
embroidered  silk  or  satin  in  plaits  over  their  lower 
limbs  in  front  and  behind,  which  serve  for  petti- 
coats. There  is,  however,  no  hiding  the  fact  that 
all  the  women  in  China  wear  breeches,  in  the 
literal  sense  of  the  term,  and  some  figuratively  as 
well. 

The  women’s  coats  are  longer  than  the  men’s, 
reaching  well  down  towards  the  knees.  A few 
retain  the  high-soled  shoe  of  fifty  years  ago;  and 
some  the  Manchu  shoe,  with  heel  misplaced  into 
the  centre  of  the  sole.  The  fashion  of  late  has 
been  to  use  the  Shanghai  shoe,  which  has  a thin 
sole,  and  is  more  like  a slipper,  and  must  be 
far  more  comfortable  to  walk  in  than  the  high, 
perched-up  affairs  of  former  days.  The  women 
walk  much  more  naturally  with  the  new  fashion 
than  with  the  old,  which  constrained  the  free  action 
of  the  foot  and  made  their  gait  stiff  and  awkward. 

235 


How  John  Chinaman  Dresses 


The  cities  of  Shanghai  and  Soochow  are  the 
Paris  and  Bond  Street  or  Regent  Street  as  regards 
fashions,  which  do  change  even  in  conservative 
old  China,  as  she  has  been  in  the  past.  A 
few  years  ago  the  fashionable  girls  and  ladies 
were  suddenly  transformed  almost  into  pigmies. 
Fashion  decreed  that  jackets  should  fit  tight, 
though  not  yielding  to  the  contours  of  the  figure, 
except  in  the  slightest  degree,  as  such  an  exposure 
of  the  body  would  be  considered  immodest.  These 
jackets  were  also  made  very  short.  This  style  of 
dress  did  not  last  very  long — a year  or  two,  or  a 
few  years  at  the  most.  There  is  on  the  whole  not 
so  much  scope  for  innovation  or  variety. 

The  poorer  classes  are  more  out  of  the  fashion- 
able world  than  with  us,  and  with  women  the 
old  style  of  doing  the  hair  is  seen  sometimes 
amongst  the  working  classes.  The  old  fashion 
made  obligatory  a wonderful  structure,  formed  into 
the  shape  of  a teapot-handle  at  the  back,  and 
spreading  out  into  two  wings  at  the  side  of  the 
head,  which  were  kept  extended  by  the  plentiful 
application  of  a kind  of  gum.  Two  back  wings 
also  added  to  the  curious  erection.  The  present 
mode  of  doing  the  hair  is  much  neater,  and  the 
shape  of  the  head  is  shown,  while  the  hair  is 
gathered  together  behind.  The  hair  is  drawn  off 
the  forehead  very  tightly,  and  bound  usually  at 
the  back,  with  the  result  that  many  young  women 
even  become  bald  on  the  forehead  and  temples. 
To  hide  this  a little  frontlet  of  hair  is  bound  over 

236 


Absolute  Necessities 


the  bared  part  above  the  forehead,  and  sometimes 
black  powder  added. 

Women  wear  no  collars,  though  there  seems  a 
tendency  amongst  some  brought  under  foreign 
influence  to  put  on  a narrow  piece  of  crochet  or 
similar  work  on  the  neck  of  their  jackets.  The 
women  often  wear  a band  over  the  forehead  in 
winter,  to  keep  off  the  cold.  No  muffs  are  used; 
but  the  men  have  such  long  sleeves  to  their  coats 
and  robes  that  in  cold  weather  they  can  clasp  their 
hands  together  and  have  them  covered  and  warm. 
There  is  no  need  for  the  removal  of  ladies’  hats 
in  a Chinese  theatre,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
there  are  none  to  take  off.  Except  the  working 
women,  who  wear  them  to  protect  themselves  from 
sun  and  rain,  and  these  are  coarse  bamboo  affairs, 
no  hats  are  worn  by  the  female  sex.  For  protec- 
tion from  the  elements,  several  kinds  of  bamboo 
hats  are  used  by  the  men,  one  variety  of  which 
even  eclipses  the  picture  hat  in  size.  Soft  felt 
hats  are  also  worn  by  the  lower  classes  of  men, 
and  all  grades  wear  close-fitting  skull-caps.  In 
summer  these  are  largely  discarded,  but  a man 
is  not  properly  dressed  without  this  cap,  and  must 
hurry  to  put  one  on  when  receiving  a formal 
call. 

No  woman  is  considered  properly  dressed  with- 
out ear-rings.  The  variety  of  these  in  different  parts 
of  the  country  is  wonderful.  A very  common  kind 
is  a large  gilt  or  gold  ring  an  inch  or  so  in 
diameter,  to  which  is  suspended  a flat  ring  of  jade- 

237 


How  John  Chinaman  Dresses 


stone.  A press  of  jade  is  often  worn  to  hold  the 
back  hair,  if  the  style  of  coiffure  is  such  as  to 
require  it.  Every  woman  has  a long  hairpin,  or 
two  at  least,  of  copper  or  silver,  and,  if  she  can 
afford  it,  of  gold,  with  a part  of  it  of  jade.  These 
stick  out  of  the  hair  as  ornaments. 


238 


CHAPTER  XIX 

The  Care  of  the  Minute 

HE  legal  maxim  De  minimis  non  curat  lex 


would  appear  generally  to  regulate  English 
life  and  action,  and  the  usual  Englishman  appears 
to  rule  his  life  by,  to  put  it  in  nautical  terms, 
a principle  of  “ by  and  large."  So  far  does  he 
carry  this  that  his  smallest  coin — the  farthing — 
is  almost  a negligible  quantity  in  the  handling, 
except  in  the  draper’s  shop. 

The  English  proverb  says,  “ Take  care  of  the 
pence,  and  the  pounds  will  take  care  of  them- 
selves,” and  utterly  ignores  the  insignificant 
farthing.  In  Chinese  currency  the  smallest  and 
almost  only  coin  is  the  cash,  which  at  the  present 
rate  of  exchange  is  worth  the  enormous  amount 
of  one-tenth  of  an  English  farthing,  though  its 
purchasing  power  in  the  interior  of  China  is  about 
what  a penny  is  in  England.  It  is  a small  round 
coin  about  the  size  of  a halfpenny,  with  a square 
hole  in  the  centre.  This  type  of  coin  has  been 
in  existence  for  two  thousand  years,  or  even  more. 
Its  square  hole  serves  as  a text  for  a sermon 
on  the  motto,  “ Act  on  the  square.”  Its  round 


239 


The  Care  of  the  Minute 


shape  might  be  emblematical  of  the  ease  with 
which  money  rolls  away  out  of  one’s  control.  To 
prevent  this  happening,  or  rather  really  for  con- 
venience in  carrying  and  handling,  this  coin  is 
tied  up  with  dried  grass-like  strings  or  hempen 
cords,  by  means  of  its  centre  hole,  into  hundreds, 
and  the  hundreds  into  thousands.  When  there 
is  a string  of  coin  to  throw  over  one’s  shoulders 
when  travelling,  probably  heavy  as  they  are,  they 
are  less  burdensome  than  the  weighty  iron  coins 
of  Lycurgus,  in  ancient  Greece. 

A sweetmeat  or  a pickle  can  delight  a child’s 
heart  for  a cash.  A hundred,  a few  score  years 
ago,  would  have  served  #(at  the  rate  of  exchange 
then  prevailing,  of  twenty  to  the  penny)  for  the 
support  of  a labouring  man  for  one  day,  nor 
in  the  interior  is  their  sustaining  power  much 
lessened.  The  world-wide  rising  in  prices  has 
its  echo  even  in  the  Far  East,  and  living  costs 
more  than  it  used  to  do,  which  is  all  the  more 
reason  for  John  Chinaman’s  frugal  care  for  the 
minute.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  the  uncon- 
sidered trifle  in  China  ; nothing  is  wasted,  except 
time  ; nothing  is  of  no  account,  unless,  perhaps, 
it  be  human  life. 

Every  Chinaman  seems  born  with  the  instinct  of 
acquisitiveness.  Where  an  Englishman  would 
starve,  the  Chinaman  will  make  a competence,  for 
he  is  able  to  turn  all  advantages  to  the  best 
account.  Added  to  which,  he  is  frugal  in  the  use 
of  the  little  he  possesses  or  can  obtain.  He  has 

240 


Small  Savings 


an  exact  conception  of  the  value  of  things. 
Nothing  of  the  slightest  use  is  thrown  away,  and 
this  definition  covers  almost  everything.  Even, 
according  to  popular  fancy  and  story,  the  gods 
are  supposed  to  see  that  no  waste  takes  place. 
As  an  instance  of  this  is  the  story  of  the  God 
of  Thunder.  He  was  rumbling  along  in  his  chariot 
in  a storm,  a half-monster  of  the  skies,  with  claws 
of  a fowl  and  the  beak  of  a chicken,  and  in  the 
semi-gloom  and  darkness  of  a Chinese  kitchen, 
where  soot  and  smoke  paint  the  walls  and  roof 
black,  he  espied  a young  woman  who  had,  as  he 
thought,  thrown  away  some  rice — cooked  rice — and 
thus  wasted  an  article  of  food.  He  struck  her 
dead  with  his  hammer  and  chisel,  to  discover 
too  late  that  what  he  thought  was  rice  was  the 
white  rind  of  a melon. 

To  prevent  the  repetition  of  such  a sad  and 
fatal  mistake  the  Goddess  of  Lightning  was 
appointed  to  go  with  the  god  on  his  punitive 
expeditions,  whose  duty  it  would  be  to  flash  light 
from  two  mirrors  she  held  in  her  hands,  and  thus 
illuminate  the  dark  places  of  the  earth  before  the 
indignant  god  should  strike. 

The  child  is  warned  against  the  waste  of  leaving 
even  a few  grains  of  rice  in  his  bowl  after  his 
simple  breakfast  and  dinner  by  a frightful  story 
that  for  every  grain  thus  left  a smallpox  mark 
will  appear  on  his  face. 

Every  scrap  of  iron  is  saved  and  hoarded  up, 
or  turned  into  cash  when  next  the  itinerant  marine- 

241 


The  Care  of  the  Minute 


hawker  comes  round  with  his  two  baskets  to  gather 
the  spoils  which  would  be  thrown  upon  the  dust- 
heap  in  our  lands  of  the  West.  Shiploads  of  old 
horseshoes  and  scrap-iron  are  sent  out  to  China, 
where  ere  long  they  reappear  in  useful  kitchen 
knives  or  tools  and  nails  for  the  carpenter. 

Every  Chinese  boy  is  a successful  merchant  in 
embryo.  A Samuel  Budgett  would  be  no  wonder 
in  this  land  of  frugality  and  picking  up  of  scraps, 
as  every  Chinaman  in  humble  circumstances  would 
act  as  that  worthy  merchant  did  about  the  horse- 
shoe, and  further,  would  probably  give  Samuel 
Budgett  lessons  to  surprise  him. 

What  would  be  insignificant  trifles  in  the  West 
are  worth  money  in  China.  Things  that  are  cast 
out  on  the  rubbish-heap  with  us  are  hoarded  up 
or  turned  into  ready  cash — such,  for  example,  as 
old  tins,  whose  day  seems  past  when  all  the  jam 
is  gone  and  the  sardines  they  held  eaten.  Every 
tin  of  a similar  nature,  if  not  immediately  utilised 
as  a drinking -cup  or  box  to  hold  something,  finds 
its  way  to  the  tinsmith’s  shop.  Old  kerosene  tins 
begin  life  anew  as  boxes  and  trunks  : one  makes 
a handy  small  one,  two  a fairly  good-sized  one, 
while  four  would  make  a magnificent  trunk. 
When  travelling  in  the  country  you  can  scarcely 
please  a Chinaman  better  than  by  giving  him  all 
the  old  tins,  cans,  bottles,  and  pots  which  have 
contained  your  preserved  fruits  and  provisions. 
His  eyes  glisten  and  his  face  beams  on  the  receipt 
of  the  treasures. 


242 


The  Hawker’s  Spoils 


The  marine-hawkers  perambulate  the  streets 
with  two  large  baskets,  slung  to  a pole  over  their 
shoulders.  Scarcely  anything  comes  amiss  to 
them  ; bits  of  copper,  iron,  tin,  or  other  metal, 
old  shoes,  and  most  of  the  things  we  would  think 
worthless  find  a rest  in  their  baskets  in  exchange 
for  a few  cash.  One  American  patent-medicine- 
seller  offers  a cent  for  every  old  bottle  issued 
originally  from  his  firm,  if  returned  to  him  empty. 
Without  any  such  notice  on  the  empties,  every 
empty  bottle  is  of  value  in  China,  and  after  passing 
through  the  marine-hawkers’  baskets  may  be  seen 
in  rows  on  some  street  stall,  where  after  the  in- 
finitesimal gain  made  by  the  gatherer  of  them, 
another  small  profit  will  result  to  the  retailer. 

No  old  bottles  are  seen  lying  about  the  shore 
or  on  the  roadside  ; they  are  too  valuable  to 
be  tossed  aside  like  that.  The  spirit  merchant, 
or  whoever  supplies  his  goods  in  such  things,  has 
no  need  to  have  them  specially  made  for  him, 
though  many  are  made  in  China — especially  is  this 
the  case  with  the  tiny  phials  holding  essences, 
such  as  peppermint,  largely  used  medicinally. 

After  you  have  drunk  your  tea,  your  servant, 
besides  having  his  cup,  will  often  resell  the  used 
leaves.  Fresh  tea  is  made  from  them  on  some 
poor  man’s  table,  and  they  thus  serve  to  cheer 
another  family  by  being  re-infused,  and  this  though 
tea  is  cheap  enough  in  the  Land  of  Tea. 

The  ashes  from  the  opium-pipe  are  re-smoked 
by  others  ; but  this  drug  is  an  expensive  article. 

243 


The  Care  of  the  Minute 


Clothes  pass  down  from  one  to  the  other,  till  at 
last  they  reach  the  beggar,  at  times  a mass  of 
rags  scarcely  held  together.  In  the  first  stage  of 
their  descent  from  their  high  estate,  and  while 
still  ,very  respectable,  you  may  see  them  lining 
the  walls  of  the  “ ancient  clothes  shops  ” as  they 
are  styled — a good  name,  as  “ ancient  ” is  often  a 
more  fitting  tenn  to  apply  to  them  than  “ old.” 

Poverty  incites  to  this  care  for  the  minute.  So 
the  children,  little  tiny  toddlers  often,  supplement 
the  efforts  of  the  father  and  mother  to  get  rice 
for  the  hungry  mouths,  by  foraging  about  for 
every  twig  and  shaving  that  can  be  found  to  keep 
the  pot  boiling.  The  seamstress-mother  stumps 
along  on  her  bound  feet,  carrying  in  her  basket, 
now  that  the  day’s  work  is  over,  scraps  for  mend- 
ing and  patching  for  the  men  whose  wives,  in 
accordance  with  Chinese  custom,  are  living  at  home 
in  the  country  with  the  mothers -in -law.  Her 
footsteps  are  slow,  prevented  as  she  is  by  her 
cramped  feet  from  pacing  it  out  bravely,  and  she 
is  burdened  with  the  baby  carried  pick-a-back, 
while  a little  brood  in  varying  stages  of  child- 
hood run  along  beside  her,  gathering  up  some 
morsel  of  wood  or  bit  of  combustible  matter. 

Every  floating  stick  or  piece  of  wood  is  picked 
up  carefully  by  the  boat-women  as  they  row  their 
sampans  along,  or  as  they  drift  on  the  tide  past 
them.  A shallow,  tiny  saucer-like  basket  attached 
to  a short  bamboo  pole  is  ready  amongst  the  boat 
furniture,  handy  to  retrieve  this  flotsam  and  rescue 

244 


Near  Starvation 


any  stray  chip  which  in  England  would  not  be 
thought  worth  the  trouble  of  rescuing  from  the 
water,  much  less  of  stopping  the  plying  of  an  oar, 
as  the  boat-women  will  do  at  times,  to  recover 
them  from  the  stream.  One  may  sometimes  see  a 
boat  coming  along  under  sail,  the  sails  made  of 
old  flour-bags  sewn  together. 

It  is  only  by  the  strictest  economy  and  the  utili- 
sation of  every  advantage  that  comes  in  their  way 
that  the  great  mass  of  the  Chinese  people  can 
manage  to  make  both  ends  meet.  Millions  of 
them  live  just  above  starvation  point.  Under  such 
circumstances  there  is  the  incentive  to  a husband- 
ing of  every  resource,  to  a seizure  of  every  oppor- 
tunity that  presents  itself  to  save  money  or  to 
obtain  what  prevents  the  expenditure  of  money. 
And  yet  withal  they  are,  on  the  whole,  a happy, 
merry  people. 

About  the  only  thing  in  China  that  seems  use- 
less is  dirt  ; and  so  it  is  allowed  to  accumulate 
in  street  and  house,  in  clothes  often,  and  not  seldom 
on  the  person.  The  heaps  of  rubbish  piled  up 
at  street  comers  or  on  the  country  roadside,  or  on 
the  banks  of  rivers,  contain  nothing  of  value. 
Shreds  of  pottery,  broken  tiles,  pieces  of  earthen- 
ware, mud,  old  bits  of  mortar  resolving  themselves 
into  earth,  and  suchlike  apparently  present  no 
potentiality  of  use,  except  in  reclaiming  land  on 
the  river  fronts.  This  is  constantly  being  done 
in  an  inexpensive  manner,  though  rather  to 
the  detriment  of  some  of  the  watercourses. 

245 


R 


The  Care  of  the  Minute 


Nature  has  so  lavishly  provided  John  Chinaman 
with  these  means  of  intercommunication  in  the 
south  that  he  has  not  yet  awakened  to  the  neces- 
sity of  conserving  their  courses  and  preserving 
their  banks  intact. 

Even  old  coffin -boards,  after  the  corpse  or 
skeleton  has  done  with  them,  are  raised  from  the 
dead,  or  the  dead  raised  from  them  and  provided 
for  elsewhere.  The  boards  serve  as  a primitive 
bridge  (being  strong,  massive  chunks  of  timber)  to 
cross  a ditch  or  watercourse.  Even  a fence  or 
hoarding  made  of  them  has  been  seen  by  the  author. 

Men  with  large  wooden  trays,  somewhat  like 
a magnified  edition  of  a butcher’s  tray,  stand  in 
the  mud  of  river-banks,  sifting  out  the  silt,  to 
recover  any  object  that  may  seem  to  them  worth 
picking  up. 

The  Chinese  would  consider  our  system  of 
sewerage  a dreadful  waste.  The  drains,  &c.,  are 
only  for  the  surface  water.  The  dirty  water  from 
the  kitchens  is  thrown  into  old  buckets,  except 
a small  quantity  that  goes  down  the  open  sinks, 
and  periodically  women  come  and  empty  them 
into  their  own  pails,  which  they  carry  off  for  pig- 
swill.  Men  and  women  also  collect  the  night- 
soil  from  the  houses  in  the  cities  and  towns,  and 
about  9 a.m.  many  a street  is,  to  the  European 
passer-by,  almost  impassable,  owing  to  the  frightful 
stench  rising  from  the  open  buckets  and  the  collect- 
ing operations,  for  all  is  done  in  the  open  streets. 
The  material  gathered  in  this  and  other  ways  is 

246 


The  Complete  House 


carried  away  and  used  for  manuring  the  fields, 
which,  barring  the  rice-fields,  at  all  events  in  the 
south  of  China,  are  to  a large  extent  simply 
market-gardens. 

The  liquid  fertilising  material  is  applied  diluted 
with  water  to  the  growing  plants.  It  may  be 
imagined  how  unpleasant  a walk  in  the  country 
in  the  evening  may  be  under  such  circumstances  ; 
for  that  is  the  time  that  the  market -gardener  or 
farmer  employs  for  this  combination  of  watering 
and  manuring.  It  may  also  be  imagined  with 
what  success  plague,  cholera,  and  other  epidemics 
spread  under  such  conditions.  The  Chinese  live 
through  it  all,  and  seem  to  thrive  under  what  would 
kih  off  Europeans  wholesale. 

Probably  no  people  on  earth  live  on  less  than 
the  Chinese  can  and  often  do,  unless  it  be  the 
natives  of  the  Indian  peninsula,  though,  as  soon 
as  his  enhanced  income  will  permit  of  it,  John 
Chinaman  launches  out  in  his  expenditure  on  food, 
clothes,  furniture,  house -rent,  and  luxuries. 

John  Chinaman  has  pretty  well  denuded  his 
country  of  woods  and  forests,  by  his  search  for 
firewood  ; and  he  prevents  the  young  trees  growing 
again.  For  the  grass-cutters,  mostly  women  and 
girls,  scour  the  hills  and  mountains  to  gather  their 
bundles  of  grass,  and  all  falls  before  their  destruc- 
tive knives. 

It  is  wonderful  how  little  one  can  do  with, 
if  one  is  brought  up  to  do  without.  A trestle  or 
two,  perhaps,  one  or  more  hard,  uncomfortable 

247 


The  Care  of  the  Minute 


chairs  of  wood  or  bamboo,  a bedstead  of  two 
trestles  and  two  long  broad  boards,  a mat  for 
mattress,  a blanket,  a quilt,  a mosquito-net,  a 
rough  wooden  or  bamboo  table,  often  a “ gate  ” 
table,  a few  earthenware  pots  and  pans,  and  two 
or  three  furnaces  (each  pot  or  pan  has  a separate 
one),  half  a dozen  bowls  and  plates,  lastly,  but 
not  of  least  importance,  a teapot — and  there  is  a 
house  fully  furnished  for  a poor  family  in  China. 

No  ; one  side  of  life  has  not  been  provided  for. 
An  idol,  or  a piece  of  board  or  paper  with  the  god’s 
or  gods’  names  written  on,  will  do  for  worship, 
and  some  charms.  Nevertheless,  with  it  all,  the 
love  of  Nature  is  not  quite  forgotten.  There  will 
likely  be  a broken  flower-pot  or  two,  with  some 
broken-down  plants. 

The  litter  of  scraps  of  paper,  old  envelopes, 
and  torn -up  letters,  with  occasionally  a whole 
newspaper  blown  about  in  the  streets  or  over  the 
sands,  or  even  a page  or  two  of  a book  with 
advertisements  galore — all  this  is  a sight  never 
seen  in  China.  This  is  not  due  to  tidiness  or 
cleanliness,  as  every  vacant  space  in  a city  or 
a street  corner  has  its  heaps  of  rubbish  piled  high  ; 
but  is  owing  to  the  reverence  felt  and  evinced 
for  the  printed  or  written  page.  Scarcely  any 
thing  causes  the  foreigner  more  to  be  despised 
in  China  than  his  utter  disregard  of  such  things. 

The  author  when  throwing  away  into  a pond 
a piece  of  dirty  foreign -printed  paper  in  the 
interior  of  China  had  his  attention  solemnly  called 

348 


Reverence  for  the  Characters 


to  the  fact  by  a young  Chinese  lad  in  an  awe- 
struck tone  of  voice.  No  paper  with  characters  on 
it  is  thrown  down  on  the  ground  or  tossed  away, 
but  carefully  stuffed  into  small  wooden  boxes 
affixed  to  the  walls,  or,  failing  these,  into  cracks 
or  crevices  in  trees  and  like  situations  or  cavities, 
whence  they  are  gathered  by  men  who  go  about 
with  a basket  and  a pair  of  bamboo  tongs  for 
the  express  purpose  of  gathering  up  every  scrap 
of  printed  or  written  paper.  The  contents  of  these 
baskets  are  burned  in  a temple  or  public  hall. 
There  is  scarcely  any  need  for  the  rag-picker  in 
China,  though  such  a gatherer  is  sometimes  seen  ; 
for  there  is  little  or  nothing  of  any  value  for 
him  to  gather.  Dustbins  are  not  required  in 
houses — the  street  corner  or  the  river  front 
serves  that  useful  purpose. 

Silver  in  China  was  not  coined  till  of  late  years. 
With  the  foreign  mercantile  intercourse,  Spanish, 
South  American,  and  Mexican  dollars  were  intro- 
duced. They  were  stamped,  as  they  circulated, 
with  each  merchant’s  or  shopkeeper’s  private  mark, 
to  secure  their  being  genuine,  with  the  result  that 
after  a few  score  or  hundreds  of  “ chops,”  as 
they  were  called,  had  been  impressed  on  them 
the  hard-used  dollars  broke  up  into  pieces.  Even 
when  whole  the  dollar  was  weighed,  to  make 
sure  it  was  full  weight.  The  scales  for  this 
purpose,  which  were  finely  marked,  allowed 
seventy-two  hundredths  of  a tael,  or  some- 
times it  was  seven  hundred  and  seventeen 

249 


The  Care  of  the  Minute 


thousandths  to  the  dollar.  One  of  these  seventy- 
two  hundredths  did  not  amount  to  a halfpenny  ; 
but  it  was  worth  quite  an  appreciable  number  of 
cash,  and  John  Chinaman’s  care  of  the  minute  is 
carried  to  fractions  little  thought  of  by  us. 

The  dollar  being  thus  reduced  to  fragments 
by  this  continual  “ chopping,”  became  “ broken 
silver,”  and  if  the  little  scale  was  required 
for  the  whole  coins,  much  more  was  it  necessary 
for  the  bits  of  silver,  to  know  what  they  were 
worth.  In  purchases  these  little  fragments  and 
their  weights  were  haggled  over  until  agreements 
could  be  come  to  between  buyer  and  seller.  The 
shopman  had  his  money-scales,  and  the  purchaser 
also  carried  his  as  well,  to  check  the  shopman’s. 
With  the  silver  coinage  that  has  now  come  in, 
this  state  of  affairs  is  gradually  disappearing. 

There  is  no  need  of  a Eustace  Miles  to  teach 
John  Chinaman  to  live  on  threepence  a day. 
Thousands,  if  not  hundreds  of  thousands,  already 
do  it  on  less.  Refreshments  and  food  of  all  kinds 
are  obtainable  at  a low  rate  unheard  of  in  England. 
Eight  Tangerine  oranges  may  be  had  for  a penny  ; 
others  cost  about  double  that  ; a stick  of  sugar- 
cane about  eight  or  ten  inches  long  costs  less 
than  a farthing  ; several  little  cakes  may  be  bought 
for  the  equivalent  of  a farthing,  and  the  same 
low  scale  of  prices  governs  many  of  the  articles 
of  native  consumption. 

As  to  the  care  for  the  minute  in  labour,  a 
yolume  might  be  written  on  it,  and  on  the  un- 

250 


“ Waste  Not,  Want  Not  ” 


ceasing  patience  which  John  Chinaman  will  bestow 
on  his  work.  The  amount  of  labour  devoted  to 
some  minute  treasure  of  porcelain  decoration  is 
little  short  of  fabulous.  Matthew  Arnold’s  picture 
of  the  " cunning  workman,”  who 

“ Pricks  with  vermilion  some  porcelain  vase, 

An  emperor’s  gift — at  early  morn  he  paints, 

And  all  day  long,  and  when  night  comes  the  lamp 
Lights  up  his  studious  forehead  and  thin  hands,” 

could  probably  be  seen  scores  of  times  in  the 
humbler  quarters  of  great  cities  in  China.  He 
will  devote  days,  weeks,  months  to  the  intricate 
minutiae  of  some  piece  of  carving,  nor  think  his 
time  wasted. 

From  all  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  if 
there  is  any  country  where  the  adage,  “ Waste 
not,  want  not,”  is  believed  in  and  acted  up  to 
by  the  people,  it  is  China,  where  it  is  practised 
to  its  fullest  extent.  As  a nation,  the  Chinese 
present  to  us  an  example  of  frugality  and  a 
habitual  readiness  to  labour  which  scorns  no 
drudgery  or  pains. 


25* 


CHAPTER  XX 


The  Yellow  Peril 


“ Peace  is  to  be  prized.” — The  Chinese  Classics. 

“Who  can  unite  the  Empire  under  one  sway?  He  who  has  no 
pleasure  in  killing  men  can  so  unite  it.” — The  Chinese  Classics. 


ITH  no  uncertain  voice  does  the  sage 


Mencius  denounce  war.  That  “ lust  of 
conquest  will  not  prosper  ” ; that  “ war  hinders 
the  increase  of  population  ” ; that  “ a war  of 
conquest  is  really  manslaughter  ” ; that  “ it 
destroys  the  balance  of  power  between  states  ” ; 
that  “ annexation  should  only  be  when  the  inhabit- 
ants are  favourable  ” ; that  “ even  a war  of  punish- 
ment may  be  avoided  ” ; that  “ war  is  generally 
to  be  deprecated  ” ; that  “ there  are  no  righteous 
wars.  Instances  there  are  of  one  war  better  than 
another  ” — these  are  the  principles  to  be  deduced 
from  the  Book  of  Mencius.1  Mencius  “ always 
advocates  a policy  of  peace.  In  this  respect  he 

1 See  Faber’s  Mind  of  Mencius,  by  Hutchinson,  Triibner’s 
“ Oriental  ” Series,  pp.  268-72. 

252 


War  Discountenanced 


is  at  one  with  all  the  chief  state  philosophers  of 
the  Chinese.” 

Lao  Tsz  says  : “ Wherever  a host  is  stationed, 
briers  and  thorns  spring  up.  In  the  sequence  of 
great  armies  there  are  sure  to  be  bad  years.” 
This  “ caveat  against  war  ” goes  on  to  say  : “ A 
[skilful  ] commander  strikes  a decisive  blow,  and 
stops.  He  does  not  dare  (by  continuing  his  opera- 
tions) to  assert  and  complete  his  mastery.”  “ He 
strikes  it  as  a matter  of  necessity  ; he  strikes  it, 
but  not  from  a wish  for  mastery.”  The  “ Tao 
Teh  King  ” proceeds  : “ Now  arms,  however 

beautiful,  are  instruments  of  evil  omen,  hateful, 
it  may  be  said,  to  all  creatures.”  “ He  who  has 
killed  multitudes  of  men  should  weep  for  them 
with  the  bitterest  grief.” 

Thus  the  founder  of  Taoism  made  by  his 
writings  a dead  set  against  war.  He  considered 
it  productive  of  misery  and  leading  early  to  ruin, 
as  “ only  permissible  in  a case  of  necessity,  and 
even  then  its  spirit  and  tendencies  must  be 
guarded  against.”  1 

To  these  masters  of  thought  and  leaders  of  the 
people’s  minds  may  be  added  others.  Suffice  it 
to  call  attention  to  Li  Hua’s  eloquent  description 
of  an  old  battlefield  where  “ the  poison  breath  of 
war  ” blasted  man  and  beast.2 3 

1 See  Legge's  The  Sacred  Books  of  China  : The  Texts  of  Taoism 
in  “The  Sacred  Books  of  the  East’’  Series.  The  Clarendon 

Press,  Oxford. 

3 See  Giles’s  Gems  of  Chinese  Literature,  pp.  152-5. 

253 


The  Yellow  Peril 


Thus  we  have  sage  and  philosopher,  scholar  and 
people,  all  with  an  underlying  repugnance  to  war. 
Let  us  hear  what  Wu  Tsft  (the  author  of  one 
of  the  oldest  military  treatises  in  the  world)  has 
to  say  on  its  subject-matter,  as  regards  the  nature 
and  reasons  for  the  use  of  the  sword  : 

“ The  natures  of  war  are  five  : First,  a 

righteous  war  ; second,  a war  of  might  ; third,  a 
war  of  revenge  ; fourth,  a war  of  tyranny  ; fifth, 
an  unrighteous  war.  The  prevention  of  tyranny 
and  the  restoration  of  order  is  just  ; to  strike 
in  reliance  on  numbers  is  oppression  ; to  raise 
the  standard  for  reasons  of  anger  is  a war  of 
revenge  ; to  quit  propriety  and  seize  advantage  is 
tyranny.” 

“ The  barbarous  prestige  conceded  to  military 
conquerors  ” forms  no  part  of  the  Chinese  visions 
of  the  future.  If  any  country  has  lived  up  to  the 
idea  of  the  pen  being  mightier  than  the  sword, 
China  has  been  that  country.  She  is  now  being 
caught  in  the  vortex,  ever  widening  in  its  destruc- 
tive energies,  into  which  the  most  civilised  nations 
of  modern  times  cast  their  hard-earned  wealth  and 
peace  of  mind,  while  striving  to  ride  unharmed 
over  its  whirlpool  depths. 

The  idea  that  China  will  rouse  herself  in  her 
hundreds  of  millions  to  overrun  the  Far  West 
is  a fevered  dream,  a chimera  of  the  brain  ; it 
forms  a grand  plot  for  the  most  sensational  type 
of  novel.  Some  of  her  emperors  in  the  past,  it  is 
true,  have  dreamed  dreams,  and  sent  out  armies 

254 


No  Lust  of  Conquest 


to  conquer  the  Isles  of  the  Seas,  to  wit,  the  Island 
Kingdom  of  Japan  ; but  their  fate  was  that  of 
the  Armada  against  our  own  shores,  and  they 
disappeared. 

The  whole  instinct  of  the  people,  their  whole 
mode  of  thought,  the  trend  of  public  opinion  would 
all  doubtless  be  against  the  transformation  of  the 
nation  as  a mass  into  a vast  military  force, 
leaving  their  homes  to  go  out  conquering  and 
to  conquer  ; but  one  or  two  of  those  in  power 
are  succumbing  to  the  ideas  of  conscription  in 
the  future. 

It  is  not  that  Chinese  brains  are  not  capable 
of  the  formation  of  plans  of  warfare.  In  addition 
to  their  own  native  intelligence,  the  study  of 
.Western  methods  of  warfare,  superadded  to  their 
own  skill  in  the  past,  would  be  sufficient  for  the 
exigencies  of  the  moment,  and  adequate  to  the 
needs  of  the  future.  Their  adaptation  to  circum- 
stances is  remarkable.  What  looks  like  a most 
primitive  procedure  in  the  war  in  the  Western 
hinterland  of  China  was  a most  wise  procedure  ; 
for  the  Chinese  rule  of  warfare,  that  the  enemy 
should  provide  the  commissariat,  was  carried  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  Chinese  army  rested  from 
its  arms,  and,  for  the  nonce,  the  swords  of  the 
soldiers  were  exchanged  for  ploughshares  and  their 
spears  into  pruning-hooks. 

When  the  crops  which  they  had  sown  had 
ripened,  and  food  for  the  campaign  for  the  ensuing 
season  was  provided,  the  general,  Csesar-like, 

255 


The  Yellow  Peril 


resumed  operations  ; and  thus  the  barbarians 
of  the  West  were  reduced,  and  the  horrors 
of  war  interspersed  with  the  delights  of  farm- 
ing. And  the  wise  commander  proceeded  to 
gather  the  fruits  of  the  ground  for  future 
exigencies  till  another  period  of  intercalary  farm- 
ing arrived. 

Such  a method,  with  its  leisurely  procedure, 
would  hardly  meet  the  exigencies  of  modern  war- 
fare ; for  a wave  of  the  Yellow  Peril  to  engulf 
Europe  with  its  hordes  would  require  a gigantic 
food  supply  to  meet  its  prodigious  appetite. 

Again,  were  such  an  insane  vision  as  the  invasion 
of  Europe  ever  to  turn  the  heads  of  the  sober- 
minded  Chinese,  would  not  the  nations  of  the  West 
sink  their  minor  differences,  and  oppose  an 
irresistible  phalanx  to  such  a devastating  host? 
Because  Japan  brought  Russia  to  her  knees — the 
best  of  Asia,  as  far  as  military  prowess  is  con- 
cerned, against  the  worst  of  Europe  in  regard  to 
martial  preparedness — it  does  not  follow  that 
either  Japan  or  any  other  Asiatic  nation  could 
conquer  the  whole  of  Europe,  or,  for  that  matter, 
the  entire  world. 

It  is  a mystery  how  the  vast  preparations  for 
such  an  impossible  undertaking  could  be  kept  quiet 
in  the  present  day,  when  every  event  is  known, 
to  use  an  Irishism,  even  before  it  takes  place, 
and  the  omniscient  and  omnipresent  newspaper 
correspondent  ferrets  out  every  item  of  news  for 
the  ubiquitous  daily  paper. 

256 


In  Favour  of  Peace 


To  ensure  the  success  of  such  a vast  under- 
taking, one  master-brain  would  have  to  dominate 
the  myriads  of  thinking,  peace-loving  Chinese,  and 
turn  them  from  rational  human  beings  to  wild 
beasts  of  the  desert. 

Could  one  imagine  such  a tyrant  ready  to  bend 
the  whole  will  of  the  nation  to  his  behests,  the 
preparations  required  for  such  a gigantic  conquest 
would  be  immense.  The  resources  of  the  nation 
would  be  required  for  generations  to  come  to  be 
husbanded  for  the  direful  moment.  All  her  latent 
powers  must  be  developed  to  their  utmost  extent  ; 
her  new-found  knowledge  adapted  to  the  genius 
of  her  people  ; their  minds  moulded  and  diverted 
into  new  channels  of  thought  and  desires  ; the 
conservatism  of  past  millenniums  turned,  not  into 
the  learning  of  the  .West,  but  into  a blatant  greed 
and  lust  of  bloodshed  ; the  whole  nature  of  John 
Chinaman  radically  changed,  from  that  of  a 
civilised  being  into  that  of  a wild  savage,  breathing 
destruction  to  all  mankind  but  his  own  kith  and 
kin. 

Added  to  this,  remembering  the  constant  and 
rapid  change  of  armaments,  munitions  of  war, 
and  all  that  pertains  to  warfare,  both  on  land 
and  sea,  which  renders  in  a few  years  every  weapon 
obsolete,  where  are  the  millions  of  money,  the 
hundreds  of  millions  of  taels  of  silver,  to  come 
from,  to  provide  the  equipments  of  war  on  such 
a scale?  China  is  passing  rich,  without  a shadow 
of  doubt  ; but  until  some  financier  shall  arise  with 

257 


The  Yellow  Peril 


a multi-millionaire’s  powers  of  amassing  her 
wealth,  of  storing  up  her  ingots  of  sycee,  or  a 
genius  is  bom  for  the  occasion,  and  inherits  the 
purse  of  Fortunatus,  it  is  a mystery  where  the 
wherewithal  would  come  from. 

China  is  already  following  the  example  of  the 
West,  by  borrowing  from  her,  for  her  railways, 
&c.  Would  she  continue  to  borrow  from  her  victim 
to  destroy  her,  and  would  her  victim  provide  her 
in  this  way  with  the  sinews  of  war? 

Again,  many  a line  of  railway  would  be  required 
to  pour  forces  such  as  would  be  required  for  this 
Armageddon,  which  our  prophets  of  woe, 
Cassandra-like,  are  foretelling  ; fleets  of  trans- 
ports, men-of-war,  fighting  ships  of  all  kinds  and 
classes,  the  like  of  which  the  world  has  never  seen 
in  ancient  or  modern  times. 

Is  it  possible,  then,  that  the  grafting  of  Western 
militarism  on  the  rooted  hatred  of  war  of  the 
Chinese  will  so  alter  the  whole  fibre  of  the  Chinese 
moral  nature  that  rapine  and  bloodshed,  conquest 
and  the  lust  of  rule,  destruction  and  the  wholesale 
murder  of  millions  of  defenceless  women  and 
children,  the  annihilation  of  nations,  the  changing 
of  the  gardens  of  the  world  into  deserts  of  blight 
and  devastation  will  result?  Is  it  possible  that  the 
good  tree  of  Chinese  life  will  bring  forth  such 
evil  and  corrupt  fruit?  God  forbid  ! To  do  this, 
the  whole  nation  must  be  transformed  into  demons, 
a savage  people  must  take  the  place  of  a civilised 
nation.  If  this  is  to  be  the  result  of  the  introduc- 

258 


The  Golden  Rule 


tion  of  our  boasted  Western  civilisation,  then  let 
it  perish  off  the  face  of  the  earth  I 

But  those  who  know  the  Chinese  will  give  an 
emphatic  “ no  ” to  the  whole  question. 

Is  it  to  be  supposed  that  the  knitting  together 
of  the  nations  in  the  bonds  of  friendship  and  amity 
will  not  extend  beyond  the  bounds  of  Europe, 
where  it  has  begun,  fostered  by  the  wise  counsels 
of  our  late  King?  Is  it  to  be  supposed  that  this 
entente  cordiale , that  this  brotherhood  of  nations, 
will  not  extend  and  its  influence  be  felt  till  even 
distant  China  and  -its  teeming  millions  will  be 
brought  into  the  bond  of  peace?  Who  would  have 
thought  a few  years  ago  that  an  alliance  would 
have  been  formed  between  Japan  and  England? 
We  believe  that  eventually  the  golden  rule  of 
nations  as  well  as  of  individuals  will  be,  “ Love 
thy  neighbour  as  thyself.”  The  West  expresses 
the  Golden  Rule  positively  ; the  East  negatively 
— “ What  you  do  not  like  done  to  yourself,  do 
not  do  to  others.”  Three  times,  in  slightly  varying 
terms,  is  this  expressed  in  the  Chinese  classics. 
If  anything,  the  West  in  this  shows  a more 
excellent  way  to  the  East.  Will  the  East,  already 
having  the  idea,  pervert  this  glorious  teaching  to 
the  destruction  of  light  and  learning — the  East 
which  has  been  the  origin  of  light — ex  Oriente 
lux — and  its  depository  during  the  dark  ages  of 
Europe? 

The  Spirit  of  the  Age — the  Zeitgeist — is  that  of 
unity  and  accord  ; the  world  is  being  drawn 

259 


The  Yellow  Peril 


together,  and  under  its  influence  will  not  the  noble 
precepts  of  the  Chinese  sages,  long  lying  latent 
in  their  classics,  and  saturating  the  native  mind, 
find  a wider  field  of  operation  in  the  extending 
sphere  of  life  which  is  opening  up  before  the 
Chinese,  touched  as  they  are  now  being  with  the 
peace-giving  spirit  of  Him  who  said,  “ My  peace 
I give  unto  you  ” ? 

In  many  parts  of  the  world  John  Chinaman, 
instead  of  being  a yellow  peril,  has  been  a golden 
blessing.  The  British  Empire  in  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments is  being  built  up  by  his  persistent,  persever- 
ing efforts.  Out  of  almost  the  depths  of  the 
ocean,  like  the  coral  insect,  he  has  raised  up  a 
solid  foundation  of  commerce,  industry,  and  pro- 
gress. To  change  the  illustration,  he  is  the  busy 
bee  who  takes  the  place  of  the  drone.  The  native 
will  not  work  as  John  Chinaman  will.  His  progres- 
sive, pushing  energy  transforms  the  drowsy,  sleepy, 
jungle  into  the  thriving  British  colony  and  the 
enterprising  city. 

John  Chinaman  has  developed  the  Malay 
Peninsula  by  his  ever-increasing  crowds  of  pushing, 
industrious,  enterprising,  diligent  toilers.  Large 
numbers  of  Chinese  are  found  in  South  America, 
the  iWest  Indies,  and  in  India  itself,  and  almost 
anywhere  you  go,  even  on  the  top  of  a London 
’bus,  you  will  find  John  Chinaman.  There  is 
scarcely  a nation  on  earth  that  has  not  at  least 
one  of  his  number  within  its  boundaries.  He 
is  almost  as  ubiquitous  as  the  proverbial  Scot, 

260 


John  as  a Scot 


of  whose  habits  of  frugality  and  patience  he  is 
an  Asiatic  edition,  and,  like  the  Scot,  he  reaps 
his  reward.  Like  the  Scot  again,  he  also  gets 
far  more  than  his  share  of  opprobrium  for  the 
very  qualities  which  ensure  his  success. 


26x 


s 


CHAPTER  XXI 


John  Chinaman  at  School 

HE  education  of  the  Chinese  has  had  every- 


thing to  do  with  their  apparent  mentally 
stagnant  position  for  centuries.  Having  elaborated 
a system  that  admitted  of  no  expansive  energy  for 
generations,  every  Chinese  scholar  was  but  a 
stereotyped  edition  of  previous  issues  of  the  race, 
with  little  scope  for  individuality  of  expression. 
If  one  broke  loose  from  the  trammels  which  bound 
his  fellows,  he  was  a heretic  ; for  all  were  schooled 
to  one  line  of  thought  and  to  one  mode  of  expres- 
sion. The  almost  exclusive  cultivation  of  the 
memory,  with  the  confining  of  the  expression  of 
thought  into  rigid  lines  of  conventionality,  based 
on  the  classics  and  the  scholastic  writings  on  them, 
has  tended  to  destroy  the  power  of  thought. 

While  thus  affording  an  excellent  training  for 
the  retention  of  what  has  been  once  learned,  the 
course  of  education  was  not  of  great  utility  in 
expanding  the  mind.  The  result  was  that  there 


262 


The  Old  System 

was  a certain  variety  within  narrow  limits  in  the 
intellectual  attitude  and  mental  output.  The  objec- 
tive in  opposition  to  the  subjective  held  sway. 
Compared  with  the  vast  range  of  subjects  which 
nowadays  find  entrance  into  our  curriculum  of 
study,  the  Chinese  course  has  been  decidedly 
limited. 

The  immortal  classics  filled  the  mind’s  eye  of 
the  Chinese  scholar  ; his  purview  extended  no 
further.  Fortunately,  the  few  books  which  formed 
the  text  of  Chinese  learning,  which  other  future 
works  amplified,  had  applied  to  everyday  life,  as 
a sermon  does  the  original  motto  on  which  it  is 
founded — fortunately,  we  say,  these  books  embraced 
one  book  of  history  and  one  of  poetry,  as  well  as 
one  on  etiquette  ; so  that  the  study  of  their 
country’s  past  and  the  cultivation  of  the  muse 
entered  into  the  higher  school  and  college  course. 
Arithmetic,  though  hinted  at  in  the  first  book  put 
into  a Chinese  boy’s  hand,  was  beneath  the  notice 
of  the  ordinary  Chinese  student.  A few  treatises 
on  it  and  some  of  the  higher  branches  of  mathe- 
matics 1 are  to  be  found  in  the  vast  storehouses 
of  Chinese  literature.  The  scholar,  deeply  versed 
in  the  lore  of  the  schools,  as  well  as  the  merchant 
in  his  counting-house,  and  the  clerk  at  his  desk, 
are  perforce  content  to  use  for  assistance  in  the 
simplest  calculations  the  abacus,  or  counting-board, 

1 Those  who  are  interested  in  the  subject  will  find  the  mention 
of  a couple  of  score  of  works  in  Chinese  on  these  subjects  in 
Wylie’s  Notes  on  Chinese  Literature,  pp.  91-104. 

263 


John  Chinaman  at  School 


constructed  on  the  plan  of  that  taught  to  our  infant 
classes  in  our  Board  Schools.1  Under  the  Chinese 
accountant’s  deft  and  agile  fingers,  the  balls  fly 
with  lightning  speed  up  and  down  the  wires  or 
rods.  With  this  combination  of  mental  and 
mechanical  arithmetic,  most  rapid  results  are 
obtained.  But  this  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
scholar,  who  simply  picks  up  a knowledge  of  its 
use  from  seeing  it  constantly  employed,  or,  if  he 
enters  upon  a commercial  life,  has  to  be  taught 
its  manipulations. 

The  complex  character  of  the  Chinese  written 
language  and  its  inadaptability  to  be  set  down  as 
our  Arabic  numerals  are  in  any  position  convenient 
for  the  fundamental  operations  of  addition,  sub- 
traction, multiplication,  and  division,  and  the 
resulting  complication  of  these  simple  processes 
in  more  advanced  calculations — all  these  tell 
against  the  easy  employment  of  the  Chinese  written 
characters  as  signs  in  the  carrying  out  of  mathe- 
matical operations.  We  scarcely  appreciate  the 
facilities  which  our  figures  give  us.  We  may 
picture  to  ourselves  how  cumbrous  it  would  be — 
in  fact,  almost  impossible — to  carry  out  the  com- 
plex and  intricate  reckonings  connected  with  the 
whole  branch  of  mathematical  subjects  in  visible 
and  simple  signs,  were  the  Roman  method  of 

1 It  is  interesting  to  find  that  there  are  several  Russian  customs 
and  habits  similar  to,  or  identical  with,  those  of  the  Chinese ; 
such,  for  instance,  as  the  use  of  the  counting-board  in  business, 
the  eating  of  melon  seeds,  &c. 

264 


Chinese  Geographers 

representing  numbers  the  only  symbols  at  our  dis- 
posal. True  it  is  that  the  Chinese  have  a simpler 
method  of  arithmetical  notation,  a distant  cousin 
to  ours,  and  the  affinities  of  which  to  ours  may 
be  traced  ; but,  though  these  might  have  been 
employed  as  our  figures  are,  the  Chinese  have 
not  advanced  in  this  direction  beyond  a facility 
in  simply  expressing  numbers  by  them.  The 
disadvantages  of  the  use  of  the  abacus  are  that 
it  is  only  the  process  of  reckoning  as  it  proceeds 
that  is  temporarily  recorded,  pari  passu.  There 
is  no  long  array  of  figures  to  go  back  on,  and 
detect  any  error  in  the  calculation,  nor  to  keep 
as  a record  of  the  process  by  which  the  result 
has  been  attained.  Each  step  in  the  process 
obliterates  the  former,  until  the  final  result  is 
reached. 

Geography  has  been,  under  the  old  system,  an 
unknown  study  to  the  schoolboy,  and  the  most 
crass  ignorance  has  been  the  normal  condition 
of  the  Chinese  hitherto,  who,  misled  by  the  name 
of  the  Central  Empire  (or  Middle  Kingdom)  of 
their  own  land,  and  by  the  scant  knowledge  pos- 
sessed of  distant  lands  by  their  forefathers,  have 
supposed  that  China  was  the  centre  of  the  world, 
which  engrossed  nearly  the  whole  map,  while  other 
nations  inhabited  islets  scattered  round  the  borders 
of  this  projection  of  the  earth’s  surface.  Though 
grudging  space  for  earth’s  kingdoms,  this  curious 
map  had  room  to  spare  for  the  Milky  Way,  as  the 
Chinese  believe  it  is  connected  with  the  earth. 

265 


John  Chinaman  at  School 


Natural  Science,  it  may  well  be  supposed,  was 
not  thought  of.  A most  unnatural  nescience  pre- 
vails : most  ridiculous  things  are  believed  in  this 
connection,  worthy  of  our  own  Mediaeval  and  Dark 
Ages. 

The  acquisition  of  his  own  language  was  the 
only  task  the  Chinese  schoolboy  had  to  set  himself 
to,  and  notwithstanding  it  was  his  own,  it  was  as 
difficult  as  the  learning  of  another  tongue  is  to  an 
English  boy  ; for  though  he  can  speak  his  native 
tongue,  the  language  of  the  books  is  so  different 
as  to  take  years  of  unremitting  toil  to  acquire  a 
facility  in  its  use.  Many  a boy  after  two  or  three 
years  at  school,  debarred  by  poverty  from  a 
thorough  education,  left  school  with  but  a smatter- 
ing of  it,  which  was  of  but  little  use  to  him  in 
after  life.  Should  official  appointments  come  in 
his  way  when  a man,  he  then  learns  Mandarin. 
To  be  a polyglot  in  Chinese,  he  must  go  out  of 
his  own  land,  and  thus  in  some  foreign  port,  where 
the  different  speeches  of  his  many-tongued  country 
are  gathered  together,  in  the  mart,  and  amidst 
the  exigencies  of  trade  and  commerce,  he  neces- 
sarily acquires  more  than  one  of  them. 

Memory  was  the  only  thing  exercised  at  first  by 
the  youthful  aspirant  to  Government  position  (for 
this  is  the  goal  set  before  the  student),  and,  in 
consequence,  he  simply  learned  everything  by  heart 
for  the  first  year  or  two.  It  is  much  as  if  our 
youngsters,  when  first  sent  to  school,  were  set 
down  to  learn  off  by  heart,  without  any  explanation 

266 


First  Steps 


at  all,  Cornelius  Nepos  or  Caesar.  The  book  first 
put  before  the  boy  did  condescend  to  adapt  itself 
slightly  to  him  by  being  written  in  rhyme  in  lines 
of  three  words  each  ; but  its  style  was  above  the 
comprehension  of  the  youthful  brain.  Here  are  a 
few  passages  from  it  : — 

“ Men  at  their  birth,  are  by  nature  radically  good  ; 

Though  alike  in  this,  in  practice  they  widely  diverge. 

If  not  educated,  the  natural  character  grows  worse  ; 

A course  of  education  is  made  valuable  by  close  attention. 
Of  old,  Mencius’s  mother  selected  a residence, 

And  when  her  son  did  not  learn,  cut  out  the  [half-wove] 
web. 

To  nurture  and  not  educate  is  a father’s  error  ; 

To  educate  without  rigour  shows  a teacher's  indolence. 
That  boys  should  not  learn  is  an  unjust  thing  ; 

For  if  they  do  not  learn  in  youth,  what  will  they  do  when 
old? 

As  gems  unwrought  serve  no  useful  end, 

So  men  untaught  will  never  know  what  right  conduct  is.” 


After  running  over  a number  of  subjects, 
amongst  them  an  epitome  of  Chinese  history,  this 
little  Guide  to  Knowledge  for  the  instruction  of  the 
young  ends  thus  : — 

“ Diligence  has  merit ; play  yields  no  profit ; 

Be  ever  on  your  guard ; rouse  all  your  energies.” 

The  next  that  succeeded  this  rather  abstruse 
treatise  for  a boy  at  the  age  of  five  or  six,  is  a 
unique  book  in  four-line  verse,  consisting  of  just 
a thousand  characters.  The  story  goes  that  the 

267 


John  Chinaman  at  School 


author  (a.D.  550),  commanded  by  the  Emperor 
to  make  an  ode  out  of  these  thousand  characters 
handed  to  him,  did  so  in  one  night  ; but  the  tour 
de  force  of  the  effort,  accomplished  under  the 
fear  of  condign  punishment  if  he  failed,  blanched 
his  raven  locks.  He  was  richly  rewarded  for  his 
great  mental  exertion  and  wondrous  feat.  How 
any  mortal  brain,  its  actions  confined  within  such 
arbitrary  limits,  could  accomplish  the  superhuman 
task  is  a mystery.  This  second  book  begins 
thus  : — 

“ The  heavens  are  sombre  ; the  earth  yellow ; 

The  whole  universe  [at  the  creation]  was  one  wild  waste. 


A common  third  book  is  one  entitled  Odes  for 
Children,  in  pentameter  verse.  Here  are  some 
specimens  of  it  : — 

“ It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  educate  children  ; 

Do  not  say  that  your  families  are  poor, 

For  those  who  can  handle  well  the  pen, 

Go  where  they  will,  need  never  ask  for  favours. 

One  at  the  age  of  seven  shewed  himself  a divinely  endowed 
youth, 

‘ Heaven,’  said  he,  ' gave  me  my  intelligence  : 

Men  of  talent  appear  in  the  courts  of  the  holy  monarch, 
Nor  need  they  wait  in  attendance  on  lords  and  nobles. 


In  the  morning  I was  an  humble  cottager, 

In  the  evening  I entered  the  Court  of  the  Son  of  Heaven  : 
Civil  and  military  offices  are  not  hereditary, 

Men  must,  therefore,  rely  on  their  own  efforts. 

268 


Learning  the  Classics 

A passage  for  the  sea  has  been  cut  through  mountains, 

And  stones  have  been  melted  to  repair  the  heavens  ; 

In  all  the  world  there  is  nothing  that  is  impossible  ; 

It  is  the  heart  of  man  alone  that  is  wanting  resolution. 

Once  I myself  was  a poor  indigent  scholar, 

Now  I ride  mounted  in  my  four-horse  chariot, 

And  all  my  fellow-villagers  exclaim  with  surprise.’ 

Let  those  who  have  children  thoroughly  educate  them.” 

Then  the  classics  were  put  into  the  schoolboy’s 
hands.  Everything  was  learned  by  heart  for  some 
time  even  after  this  ; and  each  scholar,  to  show 
that  he  was  at  work,  and  probably  the  better  to 
fix  in  his  memory  what  he  was  learning,  shouted 
out,  over  and  over  again,  in  a loud  sing-song 
tone,  the  passage  he  was  learning,  until  he  knew 
it  thoroughly.  After  which  he  went  up  to  the 
master  by  himself  to  “ back  ” it,  i.e.,  he  turned 
his  back  on  him,  so  as  not  to  see  his  book  lying 
on  the  master’s  desk,  and  said  his  lesson. 

After  the  first  year  or  so  the  master  explained 
to  him  what  the  scholar  had  learned  ; so  that  after 
this  his  progress  was  more  intelligent,  though  even 
yet  it  was  necessarily  slow  and  difficult,  as  his 
books  were  in  the  classical  language  of  China,  the 
book-language,  tantamount  almost  to  a dead  lan- 
guage— a dead  language  in  living  use,  as  far  as 
books  are  concerned  ; but  dead  in  speech.  It  is 
terse,  sententious,  recondite,  abstruse  ; its  diction 
and  style  are  remote  from  the  everyday  speech  ; 
it  is  archaic  in  its  form  and  vocabulary  : so  that 
explanations  and  commentaries  are  necessary. 

269 


John  Chinaman  at  School 


This  memorising  was  varied  by  writing  lessons, 
which  began  with  the  tracing  of  good  characters 
through  the  thin  Chinese  paper  with  the  Chinese 
pen,  which  is  really  a brush.  Further  advanced, 
the  scholar  learned  to  compose  antithetical  sen- 
tences, in  which  each  word  and  idea  balanced  one 
in  the  companion  sentence.  Essays  on  texts  from 
the  classics  formed  a part  of  a Chinese  liberal 
education  ; and  the  making  of  verse,  the  counter- 
part of  our  students  writing  Latin  verse.  All  these 
taxed  the  Chinese  scholar’s  powers  of  memory  and 
initiated  him  into  the  learning  of  his  country’s  past. 
The  result  of  all  this  is  that  a Chinese  well- 
educated  scholar  knows  his  classics  by  heart. 
Name  a passage,  quote  a line,  or  even  a word  or 
two,  and,  though  there  is  no  index  to  them,  in 
a few  minutes  he  will  point  it  out  to  you  in  the 
book,  with  its  context. 

He  is  thoroughly  imbued  with  all  the  principles 
which  govern  the  rulers  in  their  government  of 
his  country,  in  the  Government’s  relations  to  the 
people,  as  well  as  those  which  control  the  populace 
in  their  relations  and  attitude  towards  the  powers 
that  be.  His  thoughts  go  round  in  the  well-trodden 
circle  of  the  ancients.  Modernity  is  unknown  to 
him  ; all  the  marvels  of  the  present  age  have  been 
hitherto  beyond  the  power  of  his  conception. 

But  here  we  must  put  a full  stop  ; for  the 
ponderous  tome  of  the  past  will  soon  be  a closed 
book  ; a new  volume  is  being  opened,  and  though 
the  writing  in  it  is  uncertain,  yet,  as  confidence 

270 


Competitive  Examinations 

and  knowledge  is  attained,  we  predict  the  annals 
which  the  future  will  read  of  the  present  will  be 
more  glorious  than  all  the  mighty  dust -laden 
crowded  book-shelves  of  the  past  have  to  show. 

Even  before  the  time  of  Confucius  (B.C.  551), 
education  was  general  in  China,  and  the  State 
afforded  every  encouragement  to  it  ; but  it  was 
not  till  long  after  the  Christian  era  that  those  in 
authority  woke  to  the  idea  of  employing  it  as  a 
training-ground  for  the  Government  official  and 
a bulwark  to  the  State  ; so  that  the  highest  posts, 
short  of  the  throne,  were  thrown  open  to  any  whose 
talents  brought  them  the  highest  distinctions  in 
learning,  and  whose  abilities,  when  tried,  supple- 
mented their  mental  efforts.  In  this  way  it  may 
be  said  that  the  people  in  China  are  governed  by 
the  people  ; and  the  safety  of  the  country  is  con- 
served by  the  large  mass  of  literati,  whom  this 
system  of  education  produced,  and  whose  interests 
are  all  on  the  side  of  peace  and  order. 

It  was  late  in  China’s  long  page  of  history  that 
the  system  of  competitive  examinations  for  the  Civil 
Service  took  their  origin.  A long  series  of  these 
examinations  was  before  the  young  man,  which, 
if  successfully  passed,  opened  the  gateway  for 
immediate  or  prospective  employment  in  the  service 
of  the  State.  It  is  said  that  the  idea  of  our  Civil 
Service  Examinations  was  taken  from  the  Chinese. 

The  old  lamps  of  education  in  China  are  now 
being  changed  for  new  ones  ; but,  unlike  Aladdin’s 
wonderful  lamp,  the  old  lamps  have  lost  their 

271 


John  Chinaman  at  School 


power  to  produce  the  wonder-working  results  they 
achieved  in  the  past,  when  by  their  light  not  only 
China  was  illumined,  but  the  whole  Eastern  world 
about  her  as  well.  To  change  the  metaphor 
slightly,  the  old  dim  candles,  well  made  as  they 
were  in  the  a.ge  which  produced  them,  have  nearly 
burned  out,  and  the  light  is  not  sufficient  for  the 
present  needs  of  the  nation.  They  have  been 
superseded,  not  by  dim  oil  lamps,  or  even  by  gas, 
but  by  the  brilliant  electric  light  of  modern  science 
and  knowledge. 

The  Chinese  scholar,  equipped  as  he  was  with 
all  the  knowledge  deemed  essential  in  the  Far  East, 
was  like  Dominie  Dobiensis,  described  in  Jacob 
Faithful,  who,  though  he  breathed  in  the  present 
age,  spent  half  of  his  life  in  antiquity  and  algebra. 
Substitute  the  Chinese  classics  for  algebra,  and 
you  have  the  man.  The  greatest  stimulus  to  exer- 
tion for  the  Chinese  student  is  the  example  of  the 
great  Government  mandarins  going  about  in  almost 
regal  state,  and  surrounded  by  what  appears  to 
his  eyes  as  the  height  of  luxury.  Every  incentive 
to  the  attainment  of  such  an  exalted  position  is 
paraded  before  him,  and  the  example  of  many  a 
poor  youth  who  has  risen  to  such  a commanding 
height  is  held  up  before  him. 

But  the  old  order  of  things  is  changing.  The 
old  style  of  education  is  ceasing  to  be  the  pass- 
port to  official  employment.  Most  drastic  changes 
are  being  made ; a regular  bouleversement  is 
taking  place.  All  through  the  Empire  the  old 

272 


The  New  Learning 


schools  are  being  replaced  by  the  modern  one, 
modelled  with  more  or  less  of  similarity  on  those 
of  the  West.  The  old  classics  are  being  relegated 
to  a back  shelf  ; new  school-books  based  on  the 
modern  knowledge  of  the  Occident  are  taking  their 
places  on  the  desks ; and  the  scholars  are  trying 
their  best  with  the  aid  of  their  teachers  to  assimi- 
late all  they  can  from  beyond  the  seas,  from  the 
once-despised  foreigner.  The  old  saying,  ex 
oriente  lux,  is  being  reversed,  and  the  light  is 
coming  ex  occidente.  One  of  the  oldest  nations 
on  earth,  which  for  ages  was  an  example  and 
teacher  of  others,  is  putting  aside  her  pride,  and 
beginning  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  peoples  and  nations 
that  were  undreamt  of,  and  whose  progenitors  were 
wild,  half -naked  savages  when  China  was  at  the 
height  of  civilisation  and  refinement  as  compared 
with  them. 

Hundreds  of  miles  inland,  away  from  the  coast, 
where  the  influence  of  the  foreigner  is  more  felt, 
the  author  came  across  these  modern  schools.  The 
teachers  often  are  woefully  ignorant  of  this  new 
learning  that  they  are  attempting  to  impart  to  their 
eager  scholars ; but  there  is  the  desire  on  the  part 
of  teachers  and  taught  to  learn  something,  nay,  as 
much  as  possible,  of  this  new  world  of  knowledge 
and  learning,  and  science  and  literature,  to  which 
the  events  of  the  past  few  years  have  opened  their 
eyes  and  shown  the  advantage  of  acquiring,  and 
which  they  believe  is  to  result  in  the  uplift  of 
China  to  her  former  position  again  in  the  comity 

273 


John  Chinaman  at  School 


of  world  powers.  Conceit  and  ignorance  have 
hitherto  clouded  their  sight,  and  pride  made  them 
disdain  the  idea  of  learning  from  the  barbarians 
of  the  West.  The  foremost  spirits  of  the  nation 
have  determined  that  the  reproach  of  being  unable 
to  hold  their  own  shall  not  continue;  and  as  the 
learning  and  science  of  the  West,  they  believe, 
has  made  Europe  and  America  great  and  power- 
ful, China  will  learn  these  same  arts  and  mysteries 
of  knowledge,  so  as  to  regain  her  wonted  greatness, 
and  hold  up  her  head  once  more,  and  be  respected. 

The  lands  or  buildings  of  a Buddhist  monastery 
are  seized,  or  resumed  by  the  Government,1  and 
their  halls,  lands,  or  funds  appropriated  for  educa- 
tional or  other  purposes  of  necessity  in  connection 
with  the  forward  advance  of  the  nation,  without 
a word  daring  to  be  said  against  it — in  fact,  with 
the  approbation  of  a majority  of  the  inhabitants. 
This  is  one  way  of  meeting  the  great  expenses 
which  must  necessarily  be  incurred  at  the  present 
moment  in  China;  another  is  to  demand  by  a 
powerful  Viceroy,  from  some  wealthy  institution, 
a contribution  for  the  needs  of,  say,  a Provincial 
Government,  without  a demur  being  made.  One 
of  the  late  Governors-General  of  two  of  the  largest 
provinces  in  South  China  mulcted  a famous  and 
well-known  temple  in  the  sum  of  850,000  (say 
£5,000),  with  the  result  that  some  of  their  lands 

* Many  of  the  religious  establishments  are  largely  indebted  to 
Imperial  patronage  and  liberality  for  their  primary  existence  or 
extension. 

274 


Are  the  People  Educated  ? 

had  to  be  disposed  of,  and  thus  their  extensive 
property  curtailed.  This  mandarin  required  money 
for  the  many  new  undertakings  that  were  being 
entered  into,  amongst  them  schools  of  one  kind 
and  another.  What  more  natural  than  to  obtain 
the  requisite  funds  from  an  effete  institution,  whose 
inmates  mumbled  prayers  once  a day  before  im- 
passive images  without  any  benefit  to  the  com- 
munity? The  world  is  progressing,  and  what  is 
useless  must  go.  The  support  of  some  hundreds 
of  idle  monks  whose  day  is  past  is  absurd.  Every 
Chinaman  of  intelligence  will  tell  you  that  the 
Buddhist  monk  of  the  present  day  is  a drone. 

It  is  a difficult  matter  to  judge  of  the  amount 
of  education  abroad  in  the  land.  Are  the  people 
all  educated  or  not  ? From  what  has  already 
been  said,  it  will  be  gathered  that  some  at  least 
of  the  boys  are  unable  to  remain  long  enough  at 
school  to  benefit  much  by  the  small  amount  of 
instruction  they  have  received.  It  is  only  the 
well-to-do,  as  a rule,  that  are  fairly  well  educated, 
according  to  the  standards  of  the  past,  which,  as 
we  have  seen,  are  not  well  adapted  to  prepare  them 
for  the  world  of  the  present  day. 

Thousands  and  millions  of  boys  have  to  leave 
school  before  they  can  read  intelligently  the 
difficult  Chinese  language:  they  go  out  to  earn 
their  daily  rice,  with  a smattering  of  the  Chinese 
character.  Take  up  a book,  and  they  can  pick 
up  words  here  and  there  which  they  know;  but 
this  knowledge  is  not  sufficient  to  enable  them  to 

275 


John  Chinaman  at  School 


understand  thoroughly  what  they  see  before  them. 
To  many,  the  result  of  some  years  of  study  is  that 
a simple  book  is  understood  more  or  less,  but 
it  must  be  written  in  a most  easy  style.  Even  with 
a plain  style  it  often  happens  that  many  passages 
and  words  must  be  passed  over  without  more  than 
a guess  at  their  meaning,  and  often  not  even  that. 

Schools  have  abounded  all  over  the  Empire; 
every  village  has  at  least  one ; but  years  of  study 
are  required  to  ground  even  a Chinese  boy  in 
the  elements  of  his  own  language,  though,  as  has 
been  already  said,  Chinese  is  the  only  language 
learned,  and  all  his  attention  is  devoted  to  it  alone, 
and,  if  he  wishes  to  be  well  educated,  all  his 
energies  must  be  concentrated  on  it  solely  for  ten 
or  twenty  years  of  his  life.  Sooner  or  later  this 
beautiful  but  cumbrous  language  will  have  to  burst 
its  bonds  of  antiquity  and  appear  afresh  in  an 
alphabetical  form. 

There  is  an  eagerness  for  education  which  it 
would  be  difficult  to  find  surpassed  by  any  nation 
under  heaven.  Society  is  divided  into  four  classes, 
and  scholars  head  the  list,  to  be  followed  by 
farmers,  labourers,  and  lastly  merchants.  The 
apotheosis  of  the  scholar  is  the  mandarin,  and 
the  schoolmaster  is  most  highly  honoured,  though 
in  the  very  depths  of  abject  poverty.  The  teach- 
ing profession,  instead  of  being  one  to  be  despised, 
is  one  of  the  highest  in  China. 

In  the  scheme  of  education  which  has  prevailed 
in  China,  the  female  element  may  be  left  out  of 

276 


Progress 

calculation,  for  hitherto  it  has  been  almost  a 
negligible  quantity.  Occasionally  one  comes  across 
a woman  who  can  read,  but  it  is  a rare  occurrence. 
During  the  twenty-five  to  thirty  years  which  the 
author  spent  in  law  courts  in  China  it  was  indeed 
seldom  for  him  to  come  across  a woman  who  could 
sign  her  name  to  an  affidavit,  and  when  one  was 
able  to  do  it,  it  was  exceptional  if  such  a one 
could  do  it  otherwise  than  most  laboriously. 

Girls’  schools  are  now  being  widely  established. 
Notable  cases  of  educated  women  have  their 
exploits  emblazoned  on  the  grand  roll  of  Chinese 
worthies,  notwithstanding  all  the  difficulties  in  their 
way,  and  have  been  esteemed  on  that  account. 
Now  a grand  future  is  opening  out  not  only  for 
the  boys  but  the  girls  in  China. 

The  number  who  have  taken  the  B.A.  degree 
in  China  for  some  years  past  amounts  to  14,000, 
and  it  has  been  estimated  that  there  are  700,000 
Chinese  graduates  now  living  in  that  so-called 
Land  of  Literature  and  Learning.  These  form  a 
nucleus  round  which  a large  circle  of  the  educated 
cluster.  Some  have  estimated  the  educated  class 
in  China  as  15,000,000.  This  is  far  too  small 
an  estimate.  Different  results  would  be  obtained 
even  by  most  extended  inquiries,  as  answers  most 
dissimilar  would  be  given  by  different  men  in 
different  parts  of  the  Empire  and  in  town  or 
country.  If,  as  in  England  and  other  European 
countries,  books  were  written  in  the  speech  of 
the  people,  education  would  not  be  such  a very 

277  r 


John  Chinaman  at  School 


difficult  thing  as  it  has  been  in  China.  How 
greatly  the  difficulties  of  education  in  our  land 
would  be  increased,  difficult  enough  as  they  are 
now,  if  all  the  children’s  books  at  school  were 
written  in  the  language  of  Chaucer  1 


CHAPTER  XXII 


John  Chinaman  Out  of  Doors 

OHN  CHINAMAN  lives  very  much  out  of 


doors.  Before  the  open-air  craze  infected 


England  he  had  practised  it  for  thousands  of 
years.  When  he  is  indoors  he  is  generally  out 
of  doors  ; for  the  houses  are  open  all  through 
their  interiors,  paved  courts  open  to  the  sky  alter- 
nating with  the  main  buildings.  Thus  the  open 
door  has  prevailed  throughout  the  Empire,  though 
the  outer  door  was  shut  to  outsiders,  and  the 
closed  door  was  presented  to  foreign  nations. 
Closed  doors  on  the  street  front  are  often  the 
order  of  the  day,  though  this  by  no  means  excludes 
the  fresh  air  from  large  mansions. 

In  the  south  all  the  shops  have  an  open  front, 
such  as  the  English  greengrocer  often  displays. 
In  the  coldest  weather  the  shopman  sits  at  his 
counter  the  livelong  day,  exposed  to  every  wind  of 
heaven  that  blows.  This  living  so  much  in  the  <open 
air  doubtless  neutralises  to  a large  extent  the  in- 
sanitary conditions  prevalent.  The  mild  condition 


279 


John  Chinaman  Out  of  Doors 


of  the  weather  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
year  also  fosters  al  fresco  meals  and  an  open-air 
life. 

To  make  up  for  this  free  open  life  during  the 
day,  John  Chinaman  shuts  himself  up  at  night  in 
the  closest  atmosphere  possible  in  cabin  or  bed- 
room, and  in  cold  weather  rolls  himself  up  in  a 
cotton  quilt,  head  and  feet  and  body,  till  he  looks 
like  a corpse.  How  he  manages  to  breathe  in 
this  bundled-up  condition  is  a mystery  ; but  he 
seems  to  survive  all  right,  and  be  none  the  worse 
for  it. 

In  the  hot  summer  nights  many  a house  empties 
the  sleepers  out  of  doors — at  least  as  far  as  regards 
the  men-folk.  Many  of  them  lie  in  the  streets  on 
boards  or  mats  or  bamboo-beds.  Some  mount 
to  the  roofs  and  sleep  on  the  drying-stages  which 
most  of  the  houses  have  for  drying  clothes,  or  for 
sunning  vegetables  of  one  sort  or  another.  Occa- 
sionally, like  Eutychus  of  old,  one  heavy  with  sleep 
may  descend  more  rapidly  than  safely  (such  a 
thing  has  been  known),  and  sleep  his  last  sleep 
with  no  Apostle  Paul  to  waken  him  out  of  it. 

On  certain  days,  such  as  the  Dragon  Boat  Feast, 
the  whole  family  of  John  Chinaman  goes  out  of 
doors,  and  the  river-bank  is  lined  with  spectators 
to  see  the  boat-races.  Father,  mother,  sons,  and 
daughters,  together  with  the  slave-girls  conveying 
pipes  for  the  ladies  to  smoke  and  also  carrying 
the  babies,  are  the  happiest  of  the  happy  throng. 

On  the  annual  Tomb-Worshipping  Day  there 
280 


CHINESE  CROWD  AT  AN  OUT-OF-DOORS  THEATRE. 


Country  Excursions 

is  a regular  exodus  into  the  country.  Old  and 
young  gather  round  the  family  tombs  on  the  hill- 
sides outside  the  city  walls.  After  the  ceremonial 
genuflections  and  offerings  of  pork  and  fowl  and 
other  eatables,  the  burning  of  incense  and  candles, 
and  the  adding  of  a turf  on  to  the  former  years’ 
sods  on  the  mound  over  the  dead,  the  family  picnic 
in  the  open. 

Men  will  go  to  a monastery  in  some  of  the 
beautiful  hill  countries  within  a short  journey  of 
some  of  China’s  teeming  cities  and  spend  some 
time  in  the  cool  air,  combining  religious  exercises 
with  a summer  outing.  There  arc  suites  of  apart- 
ments for  the  use  of  such  devotees  of  Nature  and 
the  gods.  Ladies  also  avail  themselves  of  these 
opportunities  to  go  into  retreat. 

An  immense  amount  of  travelling  goes  on  in 
China,  principally,  almost  entirely,  for  business 
purposes ; and  day’s  trips,  or  long  journeys  even, 
are  taken  for  purchases  or  sales  of  goods  and 
visits  to  markets.  In  all  of  these  ways  John  China- 
man manages  to  get  a good  share  of  fresh  air 
without  definitely  setting  forth  for  that  purpose. 

John  Chinaman  and  his  womenkind  are  keenly 
interested  in  theatricals,  and  often  the  theatre  is  but 
an  open  shed,  where  performances  will  go  on  for 
days  and  nights  in  succession,  one  play  following 
on  the  heel  of  another  with  scarce  an  intermission. 
The  journey  by  road  or  boat  from  the  country- 
side around  to  the  centre  of  attraction,  where  a 
god’s  birthday  starts  the  theatricals,  gives  a 

281 


John  Chinaman  Out  of  Doors 


good  outing  to  the  natives  of  the  surrounding 
parts. 

Much  of  the  buying  and  selling  and  marketing, 
instead  of  being  carried  on  indoors  and  in  roofed- 
over  buildings,  is  done  just  outside  the  front  door. 
There  is  no  need  to  go  shopping,  for  the  shops 
come  to  you  ; at  least,  the  street -hawkers  pass 
along  in  almost  constant  succession.  Especially 
is  this  the  case  with  those  selling  food  at  meal- 
times. Now  it  is  a silk-floss  man  with  his  two 
dark-wood  cupboards,  like  mammoth  armoires,  but 
a rpass  of  drawers,  in  which,  as  he  opens  them, 
the  richest  gleams  of  soft  silk  glint  in  the  glorious 
sunlight  with  golden  hues  and  all  the  colour  of 
the  rainbow.  Soberer  shades  of  braid  and  all 
the  many  other  etceteras  which  are  attendant  on 
a lady’s  wardrobe  are  to  be  found  nestled  here 
and  there  in  his  drawers. 

The  mistress  and  her  maids  gather  round  him, 
as  he  discloses  his  treasures,  and  the  slave-girls 
also  admire,  while  the  serving-women  handle  and 
advise  and  give  their  opinion  on  the  merits  and 
demerits  of  his  stock,  with  the  freedom  which 
the  Oriental  household  allows  to  all  its  inmates, 
however  humble  they  be.  Bangles,  rings, 
bracelets,  odds  and  ends  of  silk-floss,  all  care- 
fully rearranged  in  their  receptacles,  he  shoulders 
his  .burden,  and  goes  down  the  street  lightened 
by  a few  ounces,  while  his  purse  is  heavier  by 
a few  cash.  Twirling  his  rattle  this  chapman  dis- 
appears. 


282 


Food  Hawkers 


There  is  no  need  to  go  round  to  the  grocer’s 
at  the  corner,  or  to  the  more  distant  oil-shop,  to 
buy  oil,  as  here  comes  the  oil-man  with  his  dark- 
brown  tubs,  full  of  the  peanut-oil  with  which 
nearly  all  the  Chinese  cooking  is  accomplished. 
The  same  oil  served  in  the  tiny  saucer  lamps  as  an 
illuminant  before  the  introduction  of  kerosene. 

Next  comes  a fish-seller  with  great  fat  carp 
lying  alive  in  their  own  element  in  his  circular, 
flat,  shallow  wooden  tubs,  or  it  may  be  a species 
of  herrings,  which,  being  smaller,  are  able  to  splash 
about  in  the  water.  Or  the  fishmonger  may  have 
a load  of  white  rice-fish,  white  translucent  little 
mites  with  two  tiny  black  specks  for  eyes.  If 
none  of  these  are  to  the  taste  of  the  would-be 
diner,  then  let  him  wait  a few  minutes,  and  some 
other  kinds  of  pond  or  fresh-water  fish  will  come 
along,  heralded  by  the  street  cry  of  the  vendors. 
If  great  tench  are  what  you  want,  a large  fish 
has  already  been  cut  up,  and  is  lying  on  the  basket- 
tray  this  man  carries  as  well  as  a tub.  It  is 
cut  right  down  along  the  back -bone,  and  the  red 
blood  is  smeared  all  over  the  white  flesh  of  the 
fish. 

His  steelyards  are  with  him,  as  with  all  the 
hawkers,  and  he  will  gladly  weigh  the  exact 
quantity  you  want,  or  if  it  is  a live  fish  he  will 
hook  him  up  by  the  gills  and  let  you  know  his 
weight,  while  the  poor  fish  is  floundering  and 
quivering  suspended  in  the  air,  and  then,  if  suit- 
able, he  will  scale  and  cut  it  open  for  you,  all  on 

283 


John  Chinaman  Out  of  Doors 


the  street.  But  if  it  is  a tasty  piece  of  salt-fish 
you  want,  the  salt -fish  man  with  his  sun-dried 
fish  in  his  huge  basket -ware  carriers  will  supply 
your  wants  with  his  stock  in  the  same  way  at 
your  very  door. 

Now  that  the  fish  is  provided  for  breakfast  or 
dinner,  what  about  vegetables?  They  are  also 
forthcoming  in  the  same  way,  each  peripatetic 
vendor  of  these  often  having  but  one  kind,  though 
sometimes  several  sorts  are  found  in  the  baskets 
of  the  man.  They  are  carried  in  the  way  usual 
for  bearing  loads  in  China,  viz.,  in  two  baskets 
suspended  from  the  ends  of  the  carrying-pole  or 
bamboo,  which  latter  is  laid  across  the  shoulder, 
and  changed  from  one  shoulder  to  the  other  when 
the  man  is  tired.  The  bearers  of  these  and  other 
burdens  often  have  callosities  and  great  lumps 
on  the  shoulders  from  the  constant  loads  they 
bear — loads  greater,  one  would  suppose  at  times, 
than  mortal  flesh  could  stand. 

Almost  everything  John  Chinaman  needs  can 
thus  be  bought  on  the  streets.  Not  only  the 
necessities  but  tasty  luxuries  as  well — sugar-cane, 
oranges,  water-melons,  all  kinds  of  fruits,  sweet- 
meats, pickles.  A perambulating  soup-kitchen  will 
occasionally  pass.  The  owner  announces  his 
arrival  by  clapping  two  bits  of  bamboo  together. 
Occasionally  a travelling  lending-library  will  come 
down  the  street,  with  well-stocked  bamboo  book- 
shelves. Of  course  its  staple  commodities  are 
novels,  and  in  a well-to-do  family  there  may  be 

284 


Shopping 


one  or  two  of  the  women-folk  with  a sufficient 
knowledge  of  the  characters  to  be  able  to  read 
them . 

All  this  out-of-doors  sale  of  goods  in  the  street 
and  on  your  doorstep  does  not  mean  that  there 
are  no  shops  or  stalls.  There  are  an  immense 
number  of  them  ; and  it  is  an  almost  out-of-door 
life  that  the  shopkeepers  live.  As  a rule  there 
are,  as  we  have  said,  no  shop-fronts,  i.e.,  they 
are  not  closed  in,  though  there  are  a few  pre- 
monitory symptoms  of  that  coming.  The  whole 
front  of  the  shop  is  open  to  the  street. 

The  whole  contents  of  the  shop  hanging  on 
walls  or  displayed  on  shelves,  or,  in  the  case  of 
the  more  valuable  wares  in  glass  cases,  are  visible 
to  you  (except  in  the  case  of  some  kinds  of  goods) 
as  you  pass  along  the  street  ; for  windows  are 
conspicuous  by  their  absence.  Even  the  process 
of  manufacture  is  being  carried  on  coram  publico, 
as,  for  instance,  with  gold  and  silversmiths. 

All  the  bargaining  that  goes  on  between 
customer  and  shopman  is  patent  to  the  passer- 
by in  the  street,  and,  if  you  are  a foreigner,  a 
little  crowd  will  gather  to  hear  you  beating  down 
the  price. 

If  you  have  been  long  enough  in  China,  you 
will  have  learned  how  to  get  your  bargains  at  a 
reasonable  price,  and  learned  from  watching  wily 
John  Chinaman  at  this  work,  which  is  a delight 
to  him. 

With  a casual  air  he  stops  and  asks  what  the 
285 


John  Chinaman  Out  of  Doors 


shopman  is  willing  to  sell  this  article  for,  to  be 
told  a figure  ridiculously  high,  perhaps  twice 
what  it  is  worth.  He  meets  this,  after  having 
pointed  out  some  defects,  or  the  low  quality  of 
the  goods,  by  offering  considerably  less  than  its 
value.  (“  It  is  naught,  it  is  naught  [it  is  worth- 
less], saith  the  buyer  : but  when  he  is  gone  his 
way,  then  he  boasteth.” — Prov.  xx.  14.) 

Each  side  raises  or  lowers  its  prices,  and  so 
the  higgling  goes  on  till  John  Chinaman  finally 
retreats  into  the  street,  if  he  is  not  there  already, 
as  if  to  leave  such  high-priced  goods  alone,  while 
the  solicitous  shopman  follows  him  to  the  very 
door,  if  not  out  of  doors,  as  he  rapidly  reduces 
his  terms,  in  the  hope  of  bringing  his  prospective 
customer  back. 

Walks  for  the  sake  of  walking,  when  we  walk 
along  the  streets  or  roads,  swinging  our  arms 
and  stepping  out  with  vigour  and  drinking  in  the 
fresh  air,  are  nearly  unknown.  Chinese  men  will 
sometimes  say,  not,  “ Let’s  go  for  a walk,”  but, 
“ Let’s  walk  along  the  street.”  This  is  almost 
as  much  to  see  the  sights  in  the  streets  as  for 
exercise.  Occasionally  they  may  be  seen  saunter- 
ing along  a country  road  near  a city  ; but  their 
whole  attitude  and  bearing  is  as  far  from  our  idea 
of  -what  a walk  is  as  England  is  from  China. 
An  Englishman  takes  his  dog  out  for  a walk. 
A Chinaman  would  never  think  of  a canine  com- 
panion walking  along  the  road  with  him  ; but 
he  will  take  his  caged  lark  out  into  the  open 

286 


A BUND  MKRCHAXT 


Amusements 


to  get  the  air.  He  carries  the  cage  upright  on 
his  palm  or  hand,  and  sets  it  down  in  the  grass, 
while  he  stands  and  enjoys  the  brisk,  lively 
creature’s  joy,  or  crouches  down  on  his  haunches 
beside  the  cage. 

In  the  hot  summer  evenings  the  river-  or 
harbour-side  may  be  haunted  by  crowds  more  or 
less  in  deshabille  to  cool  themselves,  while  on 
the  drying-stages  on  the  house -roofs  others  arc 
seeking  a breath  of  air. 

At  certain  seasons  of  the  year  a ring  will  be 
formed,  and  the  heels,  sides,  and  soles  of  the 
shoes  be  used  to  kick  the  shuttlecock  by  men, 
while  boys  watch,  or  try  their  prentice,  not  hands, 
but  feet,  at  attempts  more  or  less  successful  to 
do  the  same.  Kites  are  also  flown  by  men  as 
well  as  by  boys.  What  will  soon  be  a thing  of 
the  past  is  the  archery  indulged  in  by  the  aspirant 
candidate  for  military  commands,  as  well  as 
the  peculiar  athletic  exercises  carried  on  by 
them. 

The  Chinese  ladies  do  not  get  much  of  this 
out-of-door  existence.  Very  few  are  to  be  seen 
in  the  streets.  If  they  venture  out,  and  are  young 
and  pretty,  they  expose  themselves  to  the  jeers 
of  the  loafers,  who  make  insulting  remarks  about 
them.  When  paying  a social  call  or  on  a visit 
to  a temple,  &c.,  the  proper  thing  is  to  go  in  a 
sedan-chair,  and  thus,  with  blinds  let  down, 
the  lady  is  almost  invisible  to  the  crowd  through 
which  she  rapidly  passes,  safe  from  insult  with 

287 


John  Chinaman  Out  of  Doors 


her  woman-servant  or  two  rapidly  trotting  behind 
her. 

Wealthy  gentlemen  are  very  fond  of  what  are 
called  gardens  laid  out  in  their  grounds  or  in  the 
suburbs,  and  here  the  ladies  of  the  family  may 
disport  themselves.  There  are  no  flower-beds, 
almost  all  the  plants  being  in  ornamental  pots 
of  various  shapes  and  designs.  Some  flowering 
trees  are  rooted  in  the  ground.  Even  with  or 
without  a garden,  plants  will  be  found  in  pots 
or  ornamental  stands  in  the  courtyards.  The 
nearest  approach  to  flower-beds  is  the  enclosing 
against  a wall  of  a bank,  or  trench  rather,  of 
earth,  which  is  raised  above  the  ground  by  a 
low  wall  on  the  outside.  This  wall  is  mainly 
formed  of  op  l-work  ornamented  glazed  foot- 
square  tiles.  I the  soil  placed  within  these  large 
sort  of  troughs,  plants  are  grown.  Bamboos  droop 
like  lovely  Prince  of  Wales  feathers,  while  plan- 
tain or  banana-trees  flap  their  enormous  long  and 
broad  leaves  in  the  breeze,  if  any  reaches  them 
in  these  enclosed  and  secluded  spots.  A garden 
is  not  complete  in  China  without  a pond,  or  a 
succession  of  them.  Once  provided,  it  or  they  arc 
immediately  filled  up  with  the  large  peltate  leaves 
of  the  lotus,  which  rise  a little  above  the  surface  of 
the  water,  each  as  large  as  a small  tea-tray. 
Long,  rambling  bridges  lead  to  little  summer- 
houses perched  up  in  the  centre  of  the  water. 
In  other  parts  one  comes  across  rock-work 
of  the  most  marvellous  construction,  adding 

288 


CHINESE  GENTLEMAN'S  GARDEN. 


Private  Gardens 

not  a little  to  the  bizarre  aspect  of  the  whole 
place. 

Kiosks  and  summer-houses  are  dotted  about, 
and  rockeries  of  artificial  stone-work,  grotesque 
in  their  miniature  precipitous  heights,  arrest  one’s 
steps.  The  paths  are  lined  with  rows  of  plants 
in  pots  on  high  glazed  earthenware  stands.  At 
times  you  pass  between  two  rows  of  boxwood  in 
these  pots,  trained  into  the  shape  of  birds,  animals, 
and  men,  the  heads  and  hands  in  earthenware  stuck 
on  to  the  plants.  A private  stage  may  be  found, 
where  a theatrical  troupe,  hired  for  the  occasion, 
will  perform  before  the  family  and  friends.  Low 
walls  to  place  pots  of  flowers  on,  built  up  of 
open-work  green  glazed  foot -square  tiles,  add  a 
piquancy  to  these  private  grounds.  Large  build- 
ings will  be  found  here  and  there  ready  for  a 
picnic.  Chinese  art  has  supplied  blackwood  furni- 
ture, paintings,  geometrical  open-work  French 
doors,  three-legged  stools,  the  tops  a large  mass 
of  rock,  uncut  or  but  little  trimmed,  smooth  and 
deliciously  cool  on  a broiling  hot  summer’s  day. 
Besides  all  the  above  there  may  be  long  cloister- 
like corridors,  on  the  walls  of  which  there  will 
be  seen  almost  endless  rubbings  of  classical 
writings,  or  of  the  elegant  caligraphy  of  some 
master-hand. 

Amidst  such  congenial  scenes  the  Chinese 
gentleman  saunters,  enjoying  to  the  full  the  varied 
objects.  LI  is  wives  and  children  will  wander 
around  with  a whole  retinue  of  servants  and 

289 


John  Chinaman  Out  of  Doors 


domestic  slave-girls,  when  no  men -folk  are  about, 
taking  their  pleasure  in  a quieter  way,  except  for 
the  clatter  of  tongues.  The  small-feeted  ladies 
lean  on  the  shoulder  of  dependants,  as  they 
hobble  along,  their  crippled  state  preventing  any- 
thing in  the  way  of  vigorous  exercise,  and  the 
traditions  of  the  race  being  also  against  violent 
motion,  unless  necessity  demands  it. 

There  is  one  type  of  outdoor  attraction  which 
draws  John  Chinaman  out  of  doors  by  the  hundreds 
and  thousands,  and  it  is  very  similar  in  its  out- 
come to  the  pageants  which  are  all  the  rage  in 
England  at  the  present  time  ; but  the  fashion  in 
China  is  probably  century-old.  Under  the  name 
of  processions  there  is  almost  always  something 
of  the  kind  going  on.  Every  chance  of  having 
one  is  seized  on  in  China,  whether  it  be  in  con- 
nection with  religious  festivities,  a marriage,  a 
funeral,  or  official  comings  and  goings.  Let  us 
begin  with  some  of  the  smaller  ones.  One  of  the 
saddest  is  that  that  takes  the  criminals  to  the 
execution  ground,  otherwise  used  as  a potter’s 
field.  The  street-gates,  consisting  of  upright 
bars  fixed  into  sockets  in  a granite  slab  across 
the  street,  are  nearly  closed.  The  chief  things 
that  one  notices  are  the  half -stupefied,  huddled- 
up  human  objects,  each  carried  in  a basket 
like  animals.  The  whole  business  is  soon  over, 
and  the  clay  furnaces  are  brought  out  again 
on  the  potter’s  field  to  dry  in  the  sun.  A 
few  corpses,  minus  the  head,  are  carried  off  for 

290 


Street  Sights 


interment,  and  except  for  one  of  these  objects 
under  a mat,  and  the  blood-stained  ground,  nothing 
is  left  to  show  what  has  taken  place. 

Occasionally  one  may  come  suddenly  in  one  of 
the  narrow  alleys  upon  a curious  little  cavalcade 
rapidly  passing  along,  the  chief  feature  in  which 
is  the  wretched  thief,  who  is  receiving  his  punish- 
ment out  of  doors,  and  being  whipped  through  the 
streets.  Particulars  of  his  crime  are  written  out 
and  exhibited,  so  that  all  may  know.  A gong 
is  a most  important  part  of  this  procession,  and 
at  each  beat  of  it  down  comes  the  whip  on  the 
thief’s  back.  As  soon  as  all  the  streets  of  the 
ward  in  which  the  theft  took  place  are  gone 
through  the  unfortunate  man  is  let  go,  glad  to 
escape  from  the  clutches  of  the  law. 

Still  out  of  doors  are  some  of  the  other  punish- 
ments, though  not  rising  to  the  dignity  of  a pro- 
cession, such,  for  instance,  as  the  wearing  of  the 
cangue,  or  wooden  collar,  out  in  the  streets,  or 
at  the  gate  of  some  court.  The  victim  is  unable 
to  feed  himself,  as  the  framework  his  neck  is 
enclosed  in  prevents  his  putting  his  hands  up  to 
his  mouth. 

No  high  official  goes  out  of  his  yamen,  or  official 
residence,  without  a procession.  The  Chinese  arc 
economical  in  their  salutes,  but  they  have  them 
often.  Three  reports  signal  the  coming  out  of 
the  “great  man.”  In  our  lands  such  an  occasion 
would  be  shorn  down  to  its  lowest  possible  limits. 
A grand  carriage  or  two  with  gorgeous  footmen 

291 


John  Chinaman  Out  of  Doors 


and  coachmen,  and  voila  tout;  but  the  stately 
booming  gong  has  to  herald  the  magnate’s  pro- 
gress, as  the  beater  gives  regular  blows  on  it, 
and  lets  them  vibrate  and  fill  the  whole  air  with 
their  waves  of  sound.  The  insignia  of  his  rank 
and  the  posts  he  has  held  are  in  large  characters 
on  wooden  tablets.  A big  official  umbrella  is 
carried  before  him,  fully  spread,  akin  to  the 
baldaccliino  of  Italy  ; a monster  fan  on  a pole, 
too  ; then  his  lictors  rattling  iron  chains,  and 
some  attendants  behind  him  on  ponies.  A quiet, 
gaping  crowd  which  lines, both  sides  of  the  streets 
but  does  not  move  or  raise  a sound,  stares  silently 
on  one  of  their  rulers,  who  has  risen  from  their 
ranks  to  this  exalted  position  in  his  eight-bearer 
sedan-chair. 

Marriage  and  funeral  processions  are  made 
little  of  in  England,  and  the  show,  except  in 
military  ones,  is  very  tame  and  commonplace. 
But  in  China  before  the  wedding  itself  there  are 
two  or  three  preliminary  small  processions,  when 
the  presents  are  being  exchanged  between  the 
parties  and  the  bride’s  trousseau  is  being  sent.  In 
the  latter  case  every  article  which  can  be  is  painted 
a bright  red — the  colour  of  joy  and  rejoicing — and 
tables  and  chairs,  clothes-horse,  basin -stand,  and 
all  the  necessary  articles  for  housekeeping,  are 
paraded  through  the  streets,  little  ragamuffin  boys 
carrying  them,  or  not  much  cleaner  men  bearing 
them  on  their  shoulders  or  in  stands  or  suspended 
from  poles. 


292 


Processional  Glories 


Almost  every  procession  is  heralded  with  two 
gigantic  globular  lanterns,  on  poles,  resting  on 
the  shoulders,  and  high  above  the  heads  of  all. 
In  a grand  procession,  lanterns  of  different  kinds 
come  in  here  and  there  in  its  course,  a batch  of 
half  a dozen  or  a dozen  or  more,  glass  and  finely 
ornamented,  sometimes  horn  ones.  But  the  two 
in  front  of  the  procession  are  often  made  of 
bamboo-splints  and  oiled  paper  with  large 
characters  on  them.  In  a wedding  procession 
these  characters  represent  the  surname  of  the 
person  being  married.  Then  bands  of  musicians 
are  interspersed  through  the  procession,  rending 
the  air  with  their  noisy,  harsh  tones — discordant 
sounds  to  our  ears — of  clashing  cymbals,  banging, 
booming  gongs,  clicking  drums,  shrill  flageolets, 
flutes,  and  guitars  ; for  both  string  bands  and  wind 
instruments  appear  in  these  grand  ambulations 
through  the  streets.  Numerous  litters  or  stands 
with  canopied  roofs,  or  open  to  the  sky,  have 
ornaments  on  them. 

In  the  case  of  a wedding  procession,  one  has 
a number  of  sugar  ornaments,  in  the  shape  of 
animals  and  different  things,  toothsome  objects 
afterwards  for  the  children.  Large  sums  of  money 
are  spent  on  this  paraphernalia  ; but  the  most 
important  thing  of  all  is  the  large  red  sedan-chair 
in  which  the  poor  little  bride  is  shut  up  close. 
It  is  a marvel  of  Chinese  art,  profusely  carved 
and  tastefully  adorned  with  myriads  of  kingfishers’ 
feathers.  On  a hot  summer’s  day  it  must  be 

293  u 


John  Chinaman  Out  of  Doors 


perfectly  suffocating  inside  it,  and  a poor  bride 
has  .been  drowned  before  now  when  crossing  a 
river  from  the  boat  having  capsized  with  the  heavy 
chair  aboard.  If  the  families  are  well-to-do,  such 
a procession  is  no  mean  affair,  and  articles  by  the 
score  will  appear  in  this  strange  peregrination, 
requiring  hundreds  of  coolies  to  carry  them 
through  the  crowded  streets,  to  the  delight  of  all. 
The  Chinese  often  impoverish  themselves  over  their 
marriages. 

Funeral  processions,  again,  can  be  grand  affairs, 
taking  an  hour  to  pass  a given  spot.  The  shrill 
clarionets  pipe  forth  their  dirge  ; but  it  requires 
a trained  ear,  which  few  Westerners  can  attain, 
to  know  the  difference  between  this  and  the  joyous 
notes  of  the  marriage  strains.  Two  enormous 
mourning  lanterns,  of  course,  lead  the  way  borne 
aloft  ; bands  of  musicians  perform  ; a sedan-chair 
contains  a conventional  portrait  of  the  deceased  ; 
a kind  of  portable  altar  is  borne  before  the  coffin, 
with  a tablet  and  candles  with  sticks  of  incense, 
their  tiny  points  glowing  with  light. 

If  a man  had  many  friends,  a prominent  feature 
is  the  number  of  large  oblong  banners,  yards  wide 
and  many  yards  high,  in  mourning  colours — purple, 
and  blue,  &c.,  containing  suitable  inscriptions 
which  take  the  place  that  wreaths  occupy  with 
us.  The  huge  coffin  at  last  appears,  carried  by 
eight,  sixteen,  or  more  coolies,  sometimes  on  a 
catafalque,  but  with  a red  cloth  thrown  over  it. 
And  then  comes  the  saddest  sight  of  all — the 

294 


THE  DRAGON  PROCESSION. 


Idol  Processions 


mourners,  clothed  in  coarse  hempen  mockery  of 
wearing  apparel,  with  bands  of  the  same  on  their 
heads,  holding  staves  with  white  paper  round  them 
in  their  hands  ; and  the  women-folk  wailing  the 
dead  in  the  most  forlorn  and  eerie  manner.  Paper 
imitation  money  is  scattered  on  the  way  along 
the  roads,  to  keep  the  ghosts  from  troubling  the 
living  or  the  dead,  as  the  pilgrimage  wends  its  way 
and  finally  climbs  some  desolate  hill-side,  where 
on  some  high  ridge  or  sloping  height  the  grave 
is  placed. 

But  the  occasion  of  some  idol  festival  of  a 
god,  when  the  image  is  taken  out  for  a proces- 
sion with  the  insignia  of  official  rank  and  a stand 
with  charms  from  his  temple,  may  be  made  into 
a fine  affair  with  sufficient  subscriptions.  In  times 
of  epidemic  thousands  will  be  spent  to  get  up 
one  of  the  grandest  of  these  processions.  Then 
appear  the  most  magnificent  costumes,  lovely  in 
the  richness  of  their  colour,  and  beautiful,  gorgeous 
screens  of  embroidery  of  kingfishers’  feathers  and 
glass  ; covered  stands,  with  curios  and  eatables  ; 
hundreds  of  bannerets  ; several  idols  in  their 
shrines,  with  their  retinues,  and  girls  by  the  score 
riding  on  ponies  and  representing  historical 
characters  ; tableaux  vivants  of  children  and  girls, 
beautifully  dressed  in  gorgeous  costumes,  carried 
on  stands  representing  scenes  in  past  ages  of 
China’s  long  and  interesting  story  ; and  finally, 
maybe,  a gigantic  dragon  or  two  made  of  cloth 
and  tinsel  and  spangles,  a hundred  or  more  feet 

29£ 


John  Chinaman  Out  of  Doors 


in  length,  prancing  about,  supported  by  scores 
upon  scores  of  strong  and  healthy  young  men, 
whose  legs  only  are  visible  beneath  the  flowing 
silk  and  spangles  which  form  the  body  of  the 
great  monster. 

A chapter  out  of  fairyland  is  revealed  when  a 
lantern-procession  is  seen.  Tens  upon  tens  of 
gigantic  fishes  made  of  gauze  illuminated  with 
lights  inside  and  lanterns  and  transparencies 
innumerable  is  a sight  not  to  be  forgotten. 


296 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

John  Chinaman  Indoors 

OT  only  when  John  Chinaman  is  indoors  is  he 


almost  out  of  doors,  but  when  out  of  doors 
his  streets  are  again  often  so  shaded  with  matting 
and  boards,  to  shut  out  the  fierce  sun,  that  he 
might  as  well  be  indoors.  When  he  goes  into  his 
house,  if  it  is  of  any  size,  and  not  a mere  hovel, 
he  is  out  of  doors  again  ; for  a Chinese  house, 
unless  it  be  the  living-place  of  the  very  poorest, 
is  but  a multiplicity  of  houses  strung  together,  one 
may  say,  and  stretched  out  as  long  as  his  purse- 
strings will  allow,  and  almost  as  broad  as  circum- 
stances permit.  John  Bull  piles  storey  on  storey, 
though  he  has  not  yet  attained  to  the  sky-scraper 
heights  of  Brother  Jonathan  ; but  John  Chinaman 
spreads  himself  out,  and  not  content  with  scattering 
his  buildings  over  the  ground,  he  will  often  bring 
a garden  or  two  within  the  precincts  of  his 
mansion.  If  he  has  no  room  for  that,  he  will  be 
satisfied  with  rock-work,  and  instead  of  parterres 
and  plots  of  flowers,  a style  of  gardening  he  does 


297 


John  Chinaman  Indoors 


not  understand,  he  will  have  a fruit  garden  of 
oranges  growing  in  flower-pots,  and  flowers  bloom- 
ing all  the  year  round  in  similar  portable 
substitutes  for  plots,  which,  when  the  blooms  are 
past,  can  be  carried  away  by  the  florist,  and  re- 
placed with  seasonable  plants  bursting  into  bud 
and  afflorescence.  Thus  within-doors  John  China- 
man has  an  ever-circulating  garden. 

A mansion  modestly  hides  itself  behind  a plain 
brick  wall,  just  as  a plain  man’s  house  makes  no 
show.  In  the  one  case  the  bricks  may  be  of  a 
better  quality  and  more  neatly  pointed  than  those 
of  the  poor  man’s  abode  ; the  double  door  being 
of  good  hard-wood  and  more  prettily  decorated 
than  the  humble  dwelling.  It  may  be  safer  in  the 
East  to  shelter  oneself  from  the  public  view  ; a 
flaunting  of  one’s  wealth  is  not  always  advisable, 
lest  possibly  forced  contributions  be  demanded, 
and  one’s  magnificence  suffer  at  the  expense  of 
one’s  unwilling  munificence. 

The  streets  that  the  houses  front  on  are  mostly 
narrow,  and  paved  with  longitudinal  slabs  of  granite 
or  other  stone.  Two  or  three  steps  of  the  same  stone, 
as  long  as  the  front  of  the  house,  but  shallow  in 
height,  and  which  almost  form  a part  of  the  street, 
are  placed  in  front.  No  garden  or  railings  divide 
it  from  the  roadway.  Two  enormous  rotund 
lanterns  generally  hang  one  on  each  side  of  the 
door,  especially  on  the  first  and  fifteenth  of  the 
month.  These  swell  out  in  proportion  to  the  great- 
ness of  the  master’s  position,  till  often  a Sir  John 

298 


Street  Inscriptions 

FalstafT  could  hide  in  one,  provided  he  could  get 
in  through  the  top  or  bottom,  and  if  the  lantern, 
made  of  bamboo  strips  and  oiled  paper,  were 
strong  enough  to  hold  him.  These  are  gaily 
painted  with  scarlet,  and  the  occupant’s  name  is 
put  in  black  characters  on  them. 

Over  the  doorway,  in  the  centre,  is  an  elongated 
round  lantern,  much  smaller,  or  a small  version 
of  the  big  ones,  with  the  word  “ God,”  or  “ Spirit,” 
in  large  character  on  it,  and  **  Reverence  ” in  small 
character.  These  are  not  necessarily  always 
lighted  at  night,  as  they  are  more  for  show  than 
brilliance.  Their  brilliance  is  in  the  paint,  when 
newly  put  up.  Once  suspended,  they  are  allowed 
to  hang,  the  sport  of  wind  and  rain,  as  they  lightly 
sway  about  with  every  gust  ; so  that  ere  long 
they  become  torn  and  shabby,  their  skeleton  frame- 
work showing  through  their  surface,  tattered  and 
worn.  The  grey-blue  brick  wall  is  relieved  by 
two  bright  red  strips  of  paper,  pasted  on  the  wall 
down  each  side  of  the  door,  with  antithetical  sen- 
tences written  on  them.  Over  the  doorway  is 
another  piece,  often  with  the  good  wish  that  “ The 
Five  Blessings  may  descend  on  this  door,”  or  a 
similar  felicitous  phrase  ; or  sometimes  only  five 
pieces  of  red  oblong  paper  perforated  in  strips, 
which  are  supposed  to  convey  the  same  wish. 

Has  the  tenant  obtained  a degree  at  the 
examinations?  Then  his  literary  title  is  set  forth 
in  black  characters  on  a scarlet  board  hung  over 
the  door.  Should  his  friends  attain  a like  dis- 


299 


John  Chinaman  Indoors 

tinction,  the  notices  of  it  sent  to  him  are 
pasted  on  the  outside  wall  of  his  house,  like  great 
advertisements  a yard  or  two  long  and  two  or 
three  feet  in  width.  The  colour  of  the  paper  and 
that  of  the  ink  varies  according  to  the  degree 
taken.  Sometimes  a small  wooden  tablet  is  hung 
at  the  side  of  the  door,  or  a piece  of  paper  is 
pasted  up  with  the  occupant’s  surname  on  it. 

At  the  New  Year,  or  rather  just  before,  in 
preparation  for  it,  there  is  a scrubbing  and  a 
washing  outdoors  and  in.  If  a house  was  never 
clean  before,  it  is  fairly  clean  now,  except  in  the 
dark  corners.  All  the  scraps  of  paper  flapping 
about  on  the  outside  wall,  as  mentioned  above,  arc 
torn  down  and  fresh  put  up,  ready  for  the  great 
day  of  the  year.  Everything  looks  spick-and-span. 
But,  alas  1 many  a house  will  appear  in  mourning 
even  at  this  most  festive  and  joyous  time.  At  any 
other  season  of  the  year,  if  a death  occurs,  the 
red  papers  are  torn  down,  and  white  ones  pasted 
up  in  their  stead  for  deep  mourning,  to  be  replaced 
later  by  blue  ones  for  half -mourning. 

At  such  a time  the  gay-coloured  lanterns  are  out 
of  place,  so  mourning  ones  are  hung  up.  A pecu- 
liarly shaped  ornament  is  hung  over  the  door, 
draped  in  white,  and  its  rods  covered  with  white. 
A mat-shed  is  put  up,  and  rises  above  the  narrow 
street.  A white  paper  stork  is  hoisted  high  on  a 
bamboo  pole,  with  a gigantic  sort  of  tassel  of 
white  paper  with  streamers.  A long  funereal  in- 
scription on  white  paper  with  a peculiar  border 

3°° 


Mourning  Symbols 

of  colours,  yards  and  yards  in  length  and  a yard 
or  two  in  height,  is  pasted  up  on  the  outer  wall  of 
the  house,  and  protected  from  the  weather  by  a 
mat  roof  over  it. 

As  we  have  already  said,  white  is  deep  mourning, 
and  the  chief  mourners  at  a funeral  follow  the 
coffin  clothed  in  the  coarsest  hempen  unbleached 
cloth  of  an  almost  yellow  hue,  and  of  the  loosest 
texture  imaginable.  Though  blue  is  half-mourn- 
ing, strange  to  say  blue  clothing  is  not  mourning  at 
all,  or  the  whole  nation  nearly  would  be  in  mourn- 
ing. Blue  cord  braided  into  the  end  of  the  queue 
denotes  slight  mourning,  and  white  deep.  The 
shoes  also  show  that  a man  is  in  mourning,  and 
some  of  the  ornaments  in  a woman’s  hair. 

The  main  door  of  a Chinese  house  is  two-leaved, 
massive  and  large,  and  of  hard-wood  in  good 
mansions  ; outside  it  are  a pair  of  lighter  doors, 
which  only  reach  half  or  two-thirds  of  the  way 
up.  A small  railing  runs  along  the  top  of  these 
doors,  and  a rattan  or  bamboo  hoop  goes  over 
the  jutting-up  portions,  at  the  edges  of  the  two 
little  doors,  and  holds  them  together,  and  there  is 
a wooden  bolt  as  well.  The  main  doors  have  two 
large  wooden  bolts.  Sometimes,  usually  in  large 
mercantile  houses,  a framework  of  wooden  bars 
can  be  shot  back  and  forward  as  a door. 

Stepping  inside  a high  threshold,  one  finds  one- 
self within  what  is  simply  an  entrance-hall  ; but 
it  is  placed  athwart  the  house,  and  does  not  run 
up  into  the  house,  as  with  us.  It  is  under  a 

301 


John  Chinaman  Indoors 


separate  small  roof.  On  one  side  will  be  found 
a shrine  to  some  god  ; it  may  be  simply  a piece 
of  red  paper  with  some  deity’s  name  on  it,  and 
incense  is  burned  twice  a day  before  it. 

At  one  side  may  be  found  the  gate-keeper’s 
lodge  or  room,  if  the  family  is  in  such  a position 
as  to  warrant  the  keeping  of  such  an  important 
individual.  There  is  no  door-bell  or  knocker  at 
the  door.  More  primitive  styles  are  necessary  to 
attract  the  attention  of  the  inmates,  if  there  is  no 
porter  : and  these  are  various — rattling  the  door, 
banging  it  with  umbrella  or  fist,  or  slapping  it 
with  flat  of  hand,  and  shouting,  must  at  times  all 
be  resorted  to.  The  delay  is  often  considerable, 
and  awkward  in  heavy  rain. 

Facing  one  as  one  enters  the  front  door,  and 
but  a few  steps  further  on,  a row  of  tall  double- 
leaved doors  stretches  across  the  way.  The  doors, 
it  may  be  remarked,  have  most  primitive  old- 
world  hinges,  such  as  were  used  in  our  land  in 
bygone  times.  A stick  projects  at  top  and  bottom 
of  door  and  works  in  a hole  made  for  it  in  stone 
or  wood  let  into  the  floor  and  in  a beam  at  top. 
These  wooden  projections  set  in  sockets  act  very 
well  in  the  place  of  hinges. 

When  one  has  penetrated  thus  far  into  a Chinese 
mansion,  one  begins  to  understand  the  construction 
of  Chinese  houses.  Roof  follows  roof  in  succession, 
with  open  paved  courtyards  between.  Side- 
cloisters  on  each  side  of  the  courtyards  join  the 
main  buildings.  These  buildings,  linked  loosely 

3°2 


Within  the  House 


on  to  one  another,  may  number  three  or  four, 
or  they  may  run  to  half  a dozen  or  more.  lo 
this  central  range  of  buildings  in  a large  mansion, 
auxiliary  ranges  of  similar  structure  may  be  linked 
on,  arranged  in  the  same  manner  alongside,  and 
connected  by  a doorway. 

Gardens  in  a large  house  will  be  found  in  these 
side  regions  ; but  most  of  the  flowers  are  in  flower- 
pots. There  are  but  few  windows  opening  out  of 
doors  in  Chinese  houses.  The  style  of  construction 
does  not  lend  itself  readily  to  their  free  adoption, 
and  the  prejudices  due  to  fung-shui  hinder  their 
acceptance,  except  on  the  frontage  of  rivers  and 
on  to  the  intervening  spaces — the  interior  court- 
yards between  the  different  roofs  of  a house.  These 
numerous  open  spaces  or  paved  courtyards,  in  the 
interiors  of  houses,  especially  in  large  houses,  take 
the  place  of  outer  windows  to  a great  extent,  as 
a row  of  windows  will  open  on  to  them  from  the 
upper  stories  of  the  different  main  buildings,  which 
are  separated  by  them  and  joined  together  by  side- 
galleries.  The  great  part  of  the  dwelling  is  on 
the  ground  floor,  though  there  will  be  in  some  of 
the  buildings  some  accommodation  on  a second 
storey,  to  which  a steep  staircase  gives  access.  The 
floors  on  the  upper  storey  are  of  boards  ; but  on 
the  ground  floor  generally  of  foot-square,  semi- 
porous  red  tiles  an  inch  thick.  These  easily  break, 
and  are  damp,  and  in  poor  and  old  houses  they 
are  not  much  better  than  mud  floors.  Thin  marble 
tiles  about  the  same  size  are  sometimes  seen. 


303 


John  Chinaman  Indoors 


The  foundations  of  the  house  are  often  of 
granite,  the  w^lls  of  a bluish-grey  brick,  and  the 
roof  very  generally  of  thin  red  pan  and  roll  tiles 
in  alternate  rows.  In  good  houses  a second  layer 
of  tiles  is  laid  over  the  first,  and  even  a third  is 
not  unknown. 

In  the  abodes  of  the  rich,  much  elegance  may 
be  seen.  Large  pen-and-ink  sketches,  usually  un- 
framed, hang  as  a centre-piece,  or  a number  of 
them,  sometimes  framed,  if  smaller,  are  hung  round 
the  walls  ; curios  are  seen  and  a vase  or  two. 
Though  the  Chinese  do  not  attain  the  simplicity 
of  the  Japanese  in  the  adornment  of  their  apart- 
ments, yet  there  is  not  the  overloading  of  a room 
with  bric-k-brac,  of  which  there  is  often  too  much 
in  the  West. 

There  may  be  elegance,  but  there  is  a lack  of 
comfort  in  the  large  barn-like  halls  which  serve 
for  reception-rooms.  There  are  large  halls,  but 
often  stuffy  little  rooms  partitioned  off  for  bed- 
rooms : spaciousness  in  one  part,  confinement  in 
the  other.  There  are  no  ceilings,  or  but  seldom, 
though  the  roof -beams  in  a good  house  will  be 
painted,  and  the  inside  surface  of  the  roof-tiling 
whitewashed.  There  is  a scarcity  of  floor  coverings 
in  the  way  of  carpets  or  rugs.  There  are  no  fire- 
places or  stoves  ; so  the  inmates  go  shivering  about 
on  their  carpetless  tiled  floors  with  doors  open  on 
to  the  open  courtyard.  Clothes  are  piled  on,  to 
keep  out  the  cold  in  winter  ; so  that  the  thin  man 
becomes  apparently  stout,  and  the  little  baby  is 

3°4 


THE  GUEST  HALL  IN  A CHINESE  GENTLEMAN’S  HOUSE,  HONG  KONG 


Furniture 


almost  as  broad  as  long.  Brass  foot-warmers  and 
hand-warmers  are  used  by  some  to  keep  these 
extremities  of  the  body  warm.  A live  cake  or  two  of 
charcoal-dust  is  buried  in  the  ashes  in  them,  and 
the  heat  thus  conserved  lasts  for  several  hours. 
It  follows  as  a matter  of  course  that  there  is  an 
absence  of  chimneys.  A few  may  be  seen,  and 
more  are  yearly  appearing  over  the  new  manu- 
factories necessitated  by  the  adoption  of  Western 
money,  electricity,  water-works,  &c. 

In  the  courtyards  and  about  the  house  will 
often  be  found  numerous  stools,  which  form  pretty 
accessions  to  the  meagre  and  primitive  Chinese 
furniture.  There  may  also  be  large,  square,  high 
stools  of  Chinese  ebony,  with  marble  tops.  Marble- 
topped  tables  are  scattered  in  different  rooms. 
Large  hard  couches,  nearly  as  broad  as  long,  are 
seen  at  the  top  of  the  room,  ready  for  the  opium- 
smoker,  with  all  the  accessories  of  the  seductive 
vice.  Long  paper  scrolls  with  inscriptions  hang 
on  the  walls,  if  pictures  do  not  already  take  up 
the  space.  Sometimes  besides  the  centre-piece, 
already  mentioned,  a few  pen-and-ink  sketches, 
framed  and  glazed,  are  seen,  though  when  in  the 
shape  of  kakemonoes  they  simply  hang  open  on 
the  wall.  Ornamental  lanterns  in  glass  and  ebony 
or  silk  gauze  hang  about.  There  is,  however,  not 
a comfortable  sofa  in  the  whole  establishment 
of  rambling  rooms,  and  one  may  wander  through 
the  whole  straggling  congeries  of  buildings  and  not 
find  an  easy  arm-chair.  The  only  approach  to 

305 


John  Chinaman  Indoors 


comfort  is  sometimes  found  in  a leather  folding- 
chair like  our  ship-chairs.  The  poet  Cowper’s 
description  of  the  furniture  of  our  forefathers 
might  be  written  to-day  of  these  articles  of  Chinese 
furniture  : — 

“ Restless  was  the  chair  ; the  back  erect 
Distressed  the  weary  loins,  that  felt  no  ease." 

And  his  description  of  one  of  the  kinds  of  stools 
we  have  already  mentioned  is  also  apt  : — 

“ On  three  legs 

Upborne  they  stood.  Three  legs  upholding  firm 
A massy  stone.” 

According  to  our  ideas,  Chinese  houses  are  but 
scantily  furnished.  Down  both  sides  of  a recep- 
tion-room, to  flank  the  opium  couch  or  bed  at  the 
top,  will  be  seen  two  rows  of  chairs  of  Chinese 
black  ebony,  with  a high  stool-like  table  in  two 
storeys  between  each  second  chair  and  the  first 
of  the  next  couple.  These  little  tables  are 
conveniently  at  hand  to  put  cups  of  tea  on, 
or  the  hookah-like  pipe  in  the  intervals  of 
smoking. 

Few  have  had  the  privilege  of  living  in  a purely 
native  house  and  being  in  the  native  household 
as  one  of  the  inmates  ; for  East  is  East  and  West 
is  West,  and,  leaving  all  matters  of  food  and  sanita- 
tion out  of  the  question,  the  greatest  forbearance  is 
needed  on  both  sides  not  to  tread  on  each  other’s 

306 


Business  Life 


corns  and  shock  each  other’s  ideas  of  decorum  and 
politeness.  Most  Europeans  would  put  a question 
mark  after  the  word  “ privilege  ” above,  unless 
they  really  wished  to  get  an  insight  into  the  inner 
life  of  a Chinese  home,  and  were  prepared  to 
forgo  comfort.  This  mode  of  entering  into 
Chinese  life  is,  however,  scarcely  necessary,  as  so 
much  of  their  life  is  spent  in  the  open,  and  is 
seen  out  of  doors,  that  it  is  not  difficult  for  one 
who  has  studied  the  Chinese  thoroughly  to  picture 
the  small  remaining  portion  of  their  life  unrevealed 
from  what  one  knows,  and  from  the  echoes  that 
one  hears  of  the  hidden  life.  To  take  lodgings 
in  a Chinese  house,  as  one  would  do  in  Europe 
and  America,  is  impossible,  or  next  to  it,  and  would 
be  inadvisable,  from  the  European  standpoint,  for 
the  reasons  given  above. 

The  tradesman,  except  in  the  most  affluent  cir- 
cumstances, and  as  a rule  even  then,  lives  in 
or  above  or  behind  his  shop.  The  merchant,  who 
in  China  is  only  a shopkeeper  on  a larger,  grander 
scale,  very  possibly  does  the  same.  If  not,  like 
his  European  confrere,  he  will  spend  the  best  part 
of  the  day  at  business.  The  merchant  will  often 
have  shares  in  half  a dozen,  a dozen,  or  more, 
separate  businesses.  To  keep  a personal  super- 
vision of  all  these  is  impossible,  and  to  hold  some 
check  on  them  he  will  put  in  a clansman,  to  keep 
some  oversight  on  what  goes  on  in  his  interests. 
Under  these  conditions  it  is  possible  for  an  un- 
scrupulous man,  in  case  of  difficulties  and  a failure 

307 


John  Chinaman  Indoors 


of  the  firm,  to  attempt  to  deny  all  responsibilities 
connected  with  the  insolvent  business,  and  the  fact 
that  a Chinaman  can  use  several  names  to  represent 
himself  aids  him  in  his  nefarious  designs.  On  the 
whole,  however,  the  Chinese  are  honest  business 
men. 

The  mandarin’s  office,  barracks,  court-house, 
gaol,  and  residence  are  all  in  the  same  congeries  of 
buildings:  so  he  is  always  at  home,  and  his  work 
is  never  done,  in  the  case  of  high  and  responsible 
officials.  He  is  never  out  of  harness,  except  for 
the  nominal  period  of  three  years  (really  twenty- 
seven  months)  of  mourning  for  his  parents. 
During  this  period  he  should  have  no  additions 
to  his  family.  This  is  the  only  time  when  the 
ceremonial  etiquette  of  Chinese  family  life  sanc- 
tions the  restriction  of  the  birth-rate.  At  other 
times  John  Chinaman’s  idea  is  that  the  more  sons 
the  better,  and  unfortunately  the  fewer  daughters 
still  the  better. 

There  is  no  counterpart  to  the  Londoner’s  and 
the  English  city  dweller’s  exodus  to  the  suburbs 
in  the  evening  and  into  the  city  in  the  day.  The 
country  has  not  yet  been  discovered  in  China, 
much  less  the  seaside.  The  Chinaman’s  country 
is  his  ancestral  home,  though  it  may  not  be  the 
country  for  which  our  Western  wishes  long,  our 
minds  dream  of,  and  our  eyes  behold  with  visions 
of  future  delight,  when  in  the  dusty  noisy  city 
streets.  In  the  ancestral  hall  are  John  Chinaman’s 
tablets  of  his  ancestors  for  several  generations  back 

308 


The  Chief  Concern 


at  the  very  least.  To  this  root-place  of  his  clan 
he  returns  when  the  outside  world  has  been  too 
hard  for  him,  and  in  abject  poverty  he  seeks  the 
help  which  the  ancestral  or  family  funds  will  afford 
him.  Religion,  social  status,  support,  if  necessary, 
are  all  to  be  found  here;  and  often  wife  and 
family  reside  here  while  the  chief  bread-winner  is 
at  some  great  mart  or  distant  port,  or  even  abroad 
seeking  to  amass  the  fortune  which,  as  a rule, 
John  Chinaman  knows  so  well  how  to  acquire  by 
his  frugal  habits,  patience,  perseverance,  and  keen 
business  instincts.  The  wife  is  left  at  this  centre,  to 
minister  to  the  comfort  of  the  parents-in-law  ; 
for  theoretically  and  practically  the  old  folks  at 
home  are  the  chief  concern.  They  are  not  rela- 
tives, according  to  the  Chinese  idea,  but  belong 
to  the  innermost  circle  of  human  relationships, 
more  intimate  than  the  outer,  ever-expanding 
family. 

Once  or  twice  a year,  if  possible,  John  China- 
man goes  home  to  see  them.  It  is  to  be  supposed 
that  he  incidentally  sees  his  wife  as  well;  but  that 
is  not  the  object  of  his  visit,  at  least  the  ostensible 
and  avowed  reason  for  the  journey.  At  other 
times,  if  distance  and  labour  do  not  forbid,  he 
may  “ go  back  to  the  country,”  as  he  calls  it.  An 
occasion  that  rightly  enough  would  imperatively 
demand  his  return  is  as  a son,  to  perform  the  last 
pious  rites  for  his  parents. 

It  would,  however,  be  entirely  unnecessary  to  be 
present  at  his  wife’s  funeral  ; nor  indeed,  for  that 

309  x 


John  Chinaman  Indoors 


matter,  is  it  necessary,  in  some  parts  of  the  country, 
for  him  to  be  present  at  his  own  wedding.  He 
may  be  too  busy,  and  not  be  able  to  get  away 
to  put  in  an  appearance,  or  it  is  possible  he  may 
he  at  the  other  side  of  the  world;  but  his  mother 
can  arrange  everything  for  him.  No  courting, 
of  course,  is  necessary;  and  a barnyard  fowl  will 
act  as  his  locum  tenens  at  the  marriage  feast 
and  ceremonies.  This  is  one  of  the  things  that, 
to  say  the  least  of  it,  make  it  rather  aiwkward  for 
an  English  or  foreign  girl  to  marry  a Chinaman, 
as  on  going  home  to  China  she  may  find  a Chinese 
girl  already  installed  as  chief  wife  by  the  old 
mother,  and,  unless  the  stranger  from  over  the 
waters  is  willing  to  take  her  place  as  second  wife, 
and  be  the  slave  of  the  mother-in-law  and  the 
drudge  of  the  real  wife,  ructions  are  the  result. 
Thus,  once  installed,  the  legitimate,  legal  wife  can- 
not be  ousted  from  her  position  for  an  outsider, 
who  would  have  no  status  in  Chinese  family  life, 
but  that  of  a secondary  wife,  or  so-called 
concubine. 

It  is  a thousand  pities  that  this  phase  of  Chinese 
marital  life  is  not  widely  known  'in  Europe  and 
America  and  our  colonies.  A Chinaman  comes 
abroad,  and  is  made  much  of.  He  is  perhaps 
a nice  fellow,  is  making  his  way  in  the  world,  and 
is  kind  and  attentive  to  the  English  or  Australian 
girl  he  is  courting.  She  is  infatuated,  and  marries 
him,  knowing  nothing  of  Chinese  social  life  and 
customs,  and  not  believing  what  she  is  told,  should 

310 


A Warning 

any  one,  knowing  what  the  Chinese  marriage 
customs  are,  warn  her  beforehand.  As  long  as  they 
remain  in  Australia  or  some  foreign  land  all  may 
go  well  ; but,  naturally  enough,  sooner  or  later  the 
man  wants  to  go  home,  and,  kind  and  good  hus- 
band as  he  may  have  been,  the  inexorable  laws 
of  marriage,  the  customs,  with  the  iron-bound 
sanction  of  ages,  cannot  be  broken  through,  and 
the  man  feels  himself  helpless.  The  girl  is  dis- 
illusioned too  late. 

These  cases  are  not  uncommon.  The  author 
has  come  across  not  a few  in  his  official  life, 
and  occasionally  had  it  in  his  power  to  render  some 
slight  assistance  to  the  distressed  women ; but  in 
other  cases  nothing  could  be  done.  If  there  are 
children,  i.e.,  boys,  the  matter  becomes  compli- 
cated, as  the  family,  supposing  the  first  wife  has 
no  sons,  wish  to  retain  one  at  least  for  ancestral 
worship,  and  the  author  has  known  stratagems 
and  tricks  resorted  to,  either  to  get  the  child  away 
from  its  mother,  or  to  keep  it,  should  the  mother 
attempt  to  leave  the  much-wived  household.  .Wjhat 
the  mother’s  feelings  are  may  be  imagined  without 
an  attempt  at  description. 

The  Chinese  official  appears  to  long  for  the 
day  when  he  may  cease  from  his  arduous  labours, 
a difficult  thing,  as  there  is  no  age  for  retirement 
—illness,  senility,  or  dismissal  being  the  only  means 
of  retiring  into  private  life.  That  many  long 
for  this  laying  down  of  the  robes  of  state,  there 
is  ample  proof  in  Chinese  literature.  One  of 

3i  i 


John  Chinaman  Indoors 

the  foremost  poets  of  China  verses  the  wish 
thus  : — 


“Would  I could 
Hie  me  from  my  office  cares. 

By  the  brooklet  then  I’d  lie, 

Catch  the  finny  tribes  with  snares  ; 

In  my  cottage  in  the  wood, 

Read  my  books  and  dream  and  think, 

Love  o'er  all  the  past  to  brood 
And  the  present  with  it  link.” 

The  gentleman  at  large,  if  a literary  man,  finds 
enjoyment  in  his  library.  The  author  has  a 
pleasant  memory  of  visiting  a wealthy  merchant 
of  literary  and  scientific  tastes  in  his  country  house, 
who,  amidst  edifying  conversation,  regaled  him 
and  his  friend  with  slight  refreshment,  the  leading 
feature  in  which  has  fixed  itself  on  the  writer’s 
memory  as  a pot  of  English  jam,  which  was 
expected  to  be  taken  from  the  jar  by  the  aid  of 
a foreign  fork. 

Meals  are  the  most  important  part  of  the  day 
to  a Chinaman.  The  wise  will  not  in  a moment 
of  urgent  haste  for  the  performance  of  some  im- 
portant matter,  call  on  a Chinaman,  even  though 
he  be  his  servant,  to  forgo  the  pleasures  of  the 
table,  even  for  a brief  season.  The  two  set  meals 
in  the  day  occupy  some  of  a man’s  time,  to  which 
are  added  an  informal  lunch,  and  other  pickings 
pass  some  of  the  hours.  His  lark,  also,  requires 
a gentleman’s  care,  to  give  it  some  fresh  air,  though 
he  may  not  feel  the  need  of  any  himself.  This 

312 


Social  Duties 


and  a chat  with  friends  will  move  on  the  slow 
wheels  of  time.  Now  and  then,  public  affairs 
may  come  in  the  day’s  work,  as  those  who  have 
the  responsibility  of  the  neighbourhood  on  their 
hands  meet  in  temple  or  guildhall. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  an  assembly  of 
this  sort  is  governed  by  the  rules  that  keep  our 
public  bodies  to  a strict  attention  to  the  business 
before  them.  Yet  without  the  rigid  rules  framed 
for  the  rapid  transaction  of  business,  the  work 
is  done,  and  well  done  too,  notwithstanding  the 
leisurely  chatting,  the  drinking  of  innumerable  cups 
of  tea,  smoking  of  endless  pipes,  and  splitting 
of  hundreds  of  melon  seeds.  Looking  after  his 
large  family  of  wives  and  children  also  engrosses 
the  attention  of  a man  of  leisure  during  many  an 
hour. 

There  are  no  calls  on  the  ladies  of  the  house  by 
gentlemen.  The  inner  apartments  only  receive 
lady  visitors  and  their  children;  gentlemen  are 
only  received  in  the  outer  apartments  by  the  host 
and  his  sons.  The  inevitable  tea,  pipes,  and  melon 
seeds,  and  sometimes  sweets,  &c.,  are  produced. 
A most  ceremonial  reception  and  leave-taking 
precede  and  follow  the  ceremonious  call.  The 
rank  and  position  of  the  guest  form  the  guide  to 
the  honour  that  is  to  be  accorded  to  him,  and  the 
distance  the  host  has  to  escort  him  to  his  sedan- 
chair. 

Dinners  are  not  given  at  home,  but  at  a 
restaurant  in  the  town,  and,  of  course,  no  ladies 
of  respectability  are  present. 

3i3 


John  Chinaman  Indoors 


Chess  is  thought  to  be  a'  game  for  2 scholar, 
nor  is  it  confined  to  that  class,  as  the  street  chair- 
coolies  may  be  seen  playing  while  waiting  for 
hire.  Other  games  are  also  played.  One  of  the 
most  common  amongst  the  latter  class  is  nine  men’s 
morris. 

The  Chinese  man  of  fortune  is  fortunate  if 
gambling  has  not  cast  its  glamour  and  infatuation 
over  him,  as  his  ample  means,  if  not  entirely  dissi- 
pated by  it  are  bound  to  suffer  large  encroach- 
ments on  them.  Nearly  all  Chinese  gamble  more 
or  less.  Better  still  if  the  opium-pipe  does  not 
claim  him  as  its  slave,  as  the  chains  once  fastened 
on  him  are  well-nigh  impossible  to  burst,  and  the 
vice  soon  masters  him,  demanding,  as  the  habit 
grows,  more  time  to  be  devoted  to  it,  and  ruining 
his  whole  life,  filching  money  from  his  purse,  and 
when  that  is  emptied,  gradually  taking  his  pro- 
perty. When  that  is  exhausted,  wife  and  child 
sometimes  go,  to  find  the  means  to  satisfy  the 
craving  for  the  drug.  At  last  the  man  is  left  an 
“ opium  ghost,”  as  the  Chinese  expressively  term 
it,  for  he  is  but  a ghost  of  what  he  was,  an 
emaciated  and  walking  skeleton  on  the  brink  of 
a dishonoured  grave,  ready  with  gaping  mouth 
to  engulf  him.  Happy,  if  timely  wise,  he  resolutely 
shuns  the  foe  at  its  first  advances. 

The  women  in  the  house  employ  themselves  with 
embroidery,  making  their  small  shoes,  smoking, 
cracking  melon  seeds,  looking  after  their  children 
and  the  ordering  of  the  household.  If  rich,  the 

3H 


1.  A GAMBLING  HOUSE. 


2.  THE  CHINESE  “ BARROW.’- 


Woman’s  Place 


oversight  of  the  women -servants  and  domestic 
slave-girls  occupies  part  of  their  time.  The 
negotiations  for  the  marriage  of  their  children, 
in  which  the  father  takes  his  full  share,  is  another 
engrossing  matter.  Gossip,  playing  dominoes  and 
cards  while  away  some  idle  hours,  and  visits  to 
acquaintance  are  not  forgotten,  when,  shut  up  in 
closed  sedan-chairs,  they  hurry  through  the  streets, 
attended  by  a woman-servant  or  slave -girl. 
Quarrels  are  not  uncommon  between  the  different 
wives. 

A feast-day  is  a gala-day.  Theatricals  form  a 
bright  interlude;  but  it  is  not  considered  respect- 
able to  frequent  the  theatre.  The  whole  life  would 
be  miserable  to  our  well-educated  woman,  with 
so  many  interests,  not  only  indoors  but  out.  We 
must,  however,  remember  that  this  narrow  life, 
with  no  wide  outlook,  is  what  the  Chinese  lady 
has  been  brought  up  to,  and  she  knows  no  other. 
Notwithstanding  all  her  disadvantages,  many  a 
Chinese  woman  is  capable,  sensible,  and  well 
fitted  to  rule  her  household;  but  much  is  wanting, 
nevertheless,  for  her  to  attain,  in  the  majority  of 
cases,  to  the  position  she  should  occupy  in  the 
home-life  of  the  nation.  This,  many  of  the  people 
are  beginning  to  realise.  Now  is  the  opportunity 
for  the  West  to  give  of  its  best  to  the  East,  and 
impart  to  them  the  civilising  influences  of  Chris- 
tianity. 


3i5 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


John  Chinaman  at  Work 

JOHN  CHINAMAN  is  a hard  worker — one  of 
the  hardest,  all  things  being  taken  into  con- 
sideration, on  the  face  of  the  earth.  An  early 
riser,  he  toils  on  through  all  the  long  hours  of  a 
weary  summer’s  day  without  a Spanish  siesta  or 
an  Englishman’s  midday  dinner-hour. 

Climatic  conditions  and  no  weekly  day  of  rest 
deny  him  the  intense  energy,  displayed  amongst 
some  of  the  world’s  labourers,  and  oftener  to  be 
found  in  the  temperate  and  rest-giving  West  ; but 
take  the  Chinese  boatman  when  in  full  toil,  and 
the  burden-bearing  coolies  in  Canton,  and  the 
incessant  hard  labour  and  the  strength  displayed 
are  commensurate  with  any  efforts  of  the  West. 

Unbraced  by  a continuous  cool  climate,  as 
prevails  to  a great  extent  in  most  European 
countries,  John  Chinaman’s  physique  is  doubtless 
lower  than  that  of  many  a stout  Englishman  or 
brawny  Scot.  But  see  a couple  of  chair-coolies, 
slight  in  build  and  short  in  stature,  lift  up  a sedan - 

316 


A Patient  Toiler 


chair  on  their  shoulders — no  light  weight  in  itself 
— and  bear  it  through  the  heat  and  burden  of  a 
sweltering  day,  with  the  thermometer  far  up  in 
the  eighties,  and  rising  up  even  beyond  ninety 
degrees,  in  the  shade  : see  all  this  done  amidst 
an  atmosphere  surcharged  with  moisture,  and 
your  respect  for  the  endurance  of  John  Chinaman 
goes  up  a considerable  number  of  degrees.  The 
author  has  had  four  men  carry  him  rapidly  in  a 
very  heavy  chair  up  a steep  height  of  about  1,800 
feet  with  only  one  or  two  slight  rests,  and  then, 
shortly  afterwards  carry  him  down  the  same 
distance  on  the  same  road  again.  Though  the 
Chinese  jinricksha-coolie  cannot  excel,  or  perhaps 
vie  with,  his  Japanese  confrere,  yet  he  can  do  a 
good  spin  in  the  shafts  of  that  vehicle. 

John  Chinaman  is  the  most  patient  toiler  to  be 
found  on  God’s  earth.  He  does  not  hurry  himself, 
unless  under  the  weight  of  a great  and  heavy 
burden.  The  hustle  of  the  Far  West  is  but  little 
known  in  the  Far  East.  Time  is  of  comparatively 
little  importance  to  him  ; it  is  not  of  the  essence 
of  the  contract  ; time  does  not  seem  to  be  money. 
It  is  more  the  distance  traversed  than  the  time 
taken  to  do  it  that  forms  the  basis  of  the  demand 
by  the  chair-coolie  or  jinricksha-coolie  for  more 
than  his  legal  fare. 

Scamping  of  work  is  not  unknown  in  the  East, 
any  more  than  in  the  West,  and  here  it  is  that  the 
Chinese  carpenter  or  bricklayer  seems  to  appreciate 
the  full  value  of  time  for  the  accumulation  of  an 

3i7 


John  Chinaman  at  Work 


unearned  increment  of  wages  unjustly  acquired. 
Strict  commercial  honesty  is  as  common  in  China 
in  the  mercantile  firm  as  the  Englishman  will 
find  it  in  the  centres  of  his  own  commerce,  if  it  is 
not  better  understood  and  carried  out  ; but  the 
workman’s  application  of  it  to  wage-earning  is 
a different  story. 

Some  of  the  long  hours  of  Chinese  toil  are  more 
apparent  than  real  ; for  the  busy  hammer  and 
anvil  of  the  blacksmith  are  heard  at  ten  o’clock 
at  night,  and  the  explanation  of  this  is,  that  there 
are  different  relays  of  men  employed. 

Patient  toil,  in  which  time  appears  to  be  of 
little  consequence,  and  with  tools  which  a Western 
workman  would  think  it  impossible  to  do  anything 
decent  with,  are  the  normal  conditions  of  Chinese 
labour.  There  is  a want  of  finish  in  much  of  the 
work  produced  by  the  Chinaman’s  primitive  tools, 
but  it  is  a wonder  that,  with  such  rude  contrivances 
as  some  of  them  are,  he  is  able  to  do  what  he  does 
so  well.  On  the  other  hand,  some  of  the  work  that 
goes  from  his  hands  is  exquisite.  The  carving  is 
fine,  as  shown  especially  in  the  wood-carving  of 
curios,  black -wood  furniture,  panels,  and  the  open- 
work of  the  upper  part  of  the  French  doors  that 
he  delights  to  put  in  his  buildings,  taking  the 
place  of  the  otherwise  plain  partitions.  The 
carving  of  ivory  chess-men,  card-cases,  <Sfc.,  of 
marble  cups,  of  stone  into  snuff -bottles  and  curios, 
is  all  worthy  of  note. 

As  an  instance  of  patience,  there  is  in  Chinese 

318 


Tools 


literature  the  story  of  one  who,  wanting  a needle, 
ground  down  a crowbar  for  the  purpose.  “ A 
Chinaman  never  scorns  any  kind  of  drudgery,” 
says  the  author  of  The  Chinese  as  They  Are. 
*•*  He  feels  no  scruple  as  to  the  honourable  or 
dishonourable  character  of  the  occupation,  but 
casts  an  eye  towards  the  wages  stipulated,  and 
zealously  applies  himself  to  the  toil.” 

Some  of  the  Chinese  tools  are  very  different  from 
those  in  use  in  the  .West.  Hones  and  whetstones 
are  used  by  the  carpenter,  one  being  a constant 
occupier  of  his  wooden  tool -tray  ; but  if  a pair  of 
scissors  or  a razor  is  to  be  sharpened,  they  are  not 
ground  with  a grindstone,  but  shaved  by  a cutting 
tool  similar  to  a spoke-shave.  Every  kind  of  iron 
or  steel  work  is  produced  in  a very  rude  manner. 
The  brass  padlocks  are  curious  things.  The  chisels 
are  rough-looking  objects.  A plane  has  a small 
stick  for  a handle,  put  through  a hole  prepared 
for  it  at  the  back  part  of  the  body  of  the  plane, 
thus  requiring  the  use  of  both  hands.  The  saw 
has  its  blade  generally  set  at  an  angle  to  the  handle, 
the  latter  being  a framework,  forming  with  the 
blade,  which  is  at  one  side  of  it,  a parallelogram. 
A carpenter’s  brace  and  bit  are  ingenious  and 
curious  ; the  former  is  a stick,  with  a short  cross- 
bar at  one  end  for  a handle,  a loose  cord  is 
attached  to  it  at  both  ends,  and  the  slack  part  of 
this  is  twisted  round  the  bit-holder,  which  can 
thus  be  caused  to  rotate  rapidly,  one  hand  holding 
the  brace  and  the  other  the  bit-holder,  guiding  it 

3i9 


John  Chinaman  at  Work 


and  exerting  the  requisite  amount  of  pressure 
required. 

The  Chinese  scaffold-builders  (quite  a craft  in 
itself)  are  very  clever  and  ingenious.  In  a land 
where  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  the  rain 
descends  in  torrents,  precautions  are  necessary  to 
shield  and  protect  a building  while  in  course  of 
construction  and  repair.  Not  only  is  a framework 
of  bamboo  poles  erected  round  it  ; but  this  is 
carried  over  the  roof,  and  covered  with  large 
oblongs  of  bamboo-leaves  fastened  together.  No 
nails  are  used  in  these  structures,  which  are  tied 
together  securely  and  firmly  by  long  thongs  of  split 
rattan.  Under  this  shelter  workmen  are  secure 
from  sun  and  showers.  When  the  work  is  over 
the  builders  appear  again,  and,  removing  the 
coverings  first,  they  take  down  the  framework, 
using  for  this  purpose  short  knives  to  cut  through 
the  rattan. 

Nor  are  these  mat-sheds  only  used  for  a protec- 
tion for  buildings  at  certain  times  ; but  they  are 
put  up,  to  house  the  workmen  required  on  any 
particular  job,  as  the  building  of  a house,  extensive 
repairs,  or  excavations  of  earthwork,  construction 
of  roads,  the  building  of  tombs,  &c.,  and  still 
further,  many  Chinese  use  them  as  permanent 
residences.  Europeans,  indeed,  occasionally  find 
them  convenient  for  that  purpose,  as  they  can 
be  fitted  with  wooden  doors  and  windows,  &c., 
and  they  are  most  useful  also  when  required  for  a 
short  time,  taking  the  place  of  tents  and  marquees. 

320 


Building  Operations 

They  are  quickly  put  up,  quickly  taken  down, 
and  quickly  destroyed  if  by  chance  they  take 
fire.  They  are  largely  used  by  the  Chinese  for 
theatres. 

Instead  of  employing  a Long  ladder  to  ascend 
to  the  roof  of  a house  to  execute  repairs,  the 
Chinese  appear  to  prefer  to  make  a temporary 
ladder  of  bamboo  poles  against  the  house.  The 
scaffold-builders  are  in  constant  demand,  and  most 
useful  their  work  is  for  steeples  and  towers. 
Temporary  bridges  are  made  in  the  same  way, 
with  bamboo  poles  and  boards  laid  for  the  flooring. 
Little  wharves  are  also  constructed  in  the  same 
manner.  One  constantly  sees  in  Hong  Kong  afi 
inclined  plane  of  such  material,  leading  up  from 
the  street  to  the  upper  storey  of  a house  where  a 
death  has  occurred,  to  allow  the  passage  of  the 
heavy  coffin  through  a window  down  into  the 
street. 

An  immense  number  of  operations  are  carried 
on  in  China  with  man-power,  as  steam-power  is 
only  being  introduced  of  late  in  railways,  steamers, 
&c.  Horse-power  would  form  no  unit  of  calcula- 
tion to  a Chinese,  for  horses  are  unknown,  and 
Manchurian  ponies  are  but  little  used,  in  immense 
tracts  of  that  great  Empire.  In  the  south,  where 
a few  are  seen,  they  serve  as  carriers  of  military 
mandarins,  who  ride  on  them,  and  the  servants 
of  great  civil  officials  also  use  them  for  the  same 
purpose.  The  only  animal  used  for  traction  in  the 
south  is  the  water-buffalo,  which  draws  the  primi- 

321 


John  Chinaman  at  Work 

tive  plough  through  the  Chinaman’s  fields,  and 
also  turns  the  oil-mill,  &c.  Man  is  the  pack-horse, 
man  is  the  carrier  of  burdens  of  every  kind  and 
of  every  material.  Man  burdens  himself  with  his 
fellow-man  in  a more  literal  sense  than  with  us. 
iWith  oar,  track-line,  and  pole,  man  has  moved 
millions  of  boats  and  vessels  for  thousands  of 
years,  in  a land  where,  boats  are  used  for  every 
conceivable  object,  thankful  when  favourable  wind 
and  tide  give  him  respite  from  active  toil,  and  all 
that  is  necessary  is  a hand  on  the  tiller  and  the 
sheets  of  the  wide-spread  sail.  Man  with  an 
endless  pump  raises  water  by  using  his  feet  on 
treadmill-like  steps  rotating  floats  within  a 
trough  and  so  dragging  up  the  water  from 
the  river  to  irrigate  his  rice-fields.  And  in 
his  boats  which  carry  fish  to  the  market, 
his  feet  acting  on  the  same  principle,  bring 
in  a supply  of  fresh  water  to  the  fish  in  the 
tanks. 

Applying  the  same  method  he  takes  the  place 
of  a steam-engine  in  some  of  the  passage-boats 
on  the  Canton  River,  which  proceed  rapidly  on 
their  voyages,  relays  of  men  working  the  stern- 
wheel  and  so  providing  the  motive  power  ; the 
boats  might  be  fitly  described  not  as  of  so  much 
horse-power  but  of  so  many  men-power.  In  this 
connection  it  may  be  interesting  to  note  that 
jinricksha  means  man-power  carriage. 

Most  ingenious  are  the  ivory-carvers,  who 
employ  a number  of  small  chisels,  either  level  at 

322 


The  Right  to  Work 

the  edge  or  slanting  on  one  side  to  a point.  Some 
have  a projecting  tooth  upon  one  side,  in  order 
to  undercut  the  figures.  “ The  workman  holds 
the  object  in  his  left  hand,  and  scrapes  away  the 
ivory  with  his  right.  He  resorts  to  no  means 
for  abridging  the  labour  of  his  task.”  Some  of  the 
most  curious  objects  produced  by  them  are  con- 
centric ivory  balls,  one  being  within  the  other  and 
all  carved,  even  the  innermost  ones.  This  is 
done  by  tools  being  introduced  through  the 
holes  of  the  carvings  of  the  outer  balls. 
This  example  is  enough  to  show  what  infinite 
care  and  trouble  Chinese  workmen  take  in  their 
work. 

Nearly  every  Chinaman  believes  in  the  right 
to  work,  and  the  majority  find  the  right  work  to 
do,  though  it  may  be  almost  unremunerative. 
Numerous  as  are  the  occasions  for  a procession 
in  China,  there  are  none  of  the  unemployed,  crying 
their  lugubrious  strain  of  “ tWe’ve  got  no  work 
to  do  ” ; that  is  left  to  the  beggars,  and  even 
they  work  diligently  and  unceasingly  at  their 
employment  of  soliciting  alms.  The  inherently 
vicious  take  up  the  work  of  highway  robbery  and 
piracy,  to  which  often  the  otherwise  honest  have 
been  driven  by  floods  or  famines. 

It  has  been  recently  stated  that  in  England 
13,000,000  persons  “are  living  within  a week  of 
want,  and  are  habitually  underfed  and  insufficiently 
clothed.”  It  is  impossible  to  say  how  many  millions 
of  China’s  teeming  population  are  in  a similar 

323 


John  Chinaman  at  Work 


position  ; but  that  there  are  vast  multitudes  of 
them  in  such  a condition  there  cannot  be  a shadow 
of  doubt,  and  yet,  except  when  a flood  or  famine 
upsets  the  ordinary  state  of  affairs,  they  manage 
to  keep  soul  and  body  together  and  continue  the 
race. 

The  solidarity  of  labour  is  evinced  by  the 
ubiquitous  guild,  which  not  only  gathers  all  the 
otherwise  scattered  members  of  one  handicraft 
under  its  eegis,  but  bristles  with  enmity  against 
all  who  try  to  impugn  its  authority  and  crushes 
them  by  its  power.  A system  of  apprenticeship 
is  in  existence,  during  the  years  of  which  the  lad 
becomes  proficient  in  his  calling.  The  guilds  are 
financed  by  the  subscriptions  of  the  craftsmen, 
fines,  &c.  They  subscribe  liberally  to  charitable 
purposes. 

Theoretically  to  work  with  the  hands  is  the 
most  honourable  of  all  callings  in  China,  next  to 
that  which  claims  the  pre-eminence — that  of 
working  with  the  brain,  viz.,  the  scholar.  After 
the  literati  come  the  agriculturists,  and  this 
means  the  man  who  has  a small  holding.  In 
China  one  does  not  see  farms  hundreds  of  acres 
in  extent.  A Chinese  acre,  a mow,  is  less  than 
the  sixth  of  an  English  one. 

A farmer  is  really  a market -gardener,  though 
he  grows  rice  and  other  crops.  His  fields  are 
neat  and  beautiful,  with  the  regular  and  clean 
rows  of  vegetables — not  a weed  is  to  be  seen. 
Morning  and  night,  with  his  two  large  buckets 

324 


Small  Culture 


hanging  to  a pole  across  his  shoulders,  in  a half- 
trot he  runs  up  the  hollows  between  the  ridges,  and 
showers  down  the  miniature  rain  from  these  primi- 
tive watering-pots.  There  is  no  rose,  only  a slit 
cut  across  the  long  bamboo  tube  which  rises  from 
each  bucket,  and  a broad  jet  of  water  spurts  out 
from  them.  He  is  busy,  too,  with  his  buckets 
of  liquid  night-soil  diluted  with  water,  which  he 
ladles  out  on  the  growing  crops  ; he  appears  to 
have  no  olfactory  nerves,  as  he  carries  on  his 
nauseous  task.  The  earliest  dawn  finds  him  at  his 
work  ; but  soon  after  five  or  six  o’clock  in  the 
evening  the  fields  are  deserted.  Then  he  hies  him 
home  to  his  hovel-like  abode  in  the  little  hamlet 
or  village,  for  lonely  farm-houses  scattered  here 
and  there  over  the  country-side  are  unknown  in 
China. 

Safety  is  in  numbers,  though  even  robberies  and 
armed  assaults  on  villages  are  not  unknown  A 
single  house  would  be  liable  to  a raid  on  it.  In 
river-travel  the  boats  are  glad  at  night  to  stop 
at  a village,  or  where  several  others  have  put  up 
till  daylight. 

The  emerald-green  of  the  rice-fields  is  a beau- 
tiful sight,  as  the  tender  shoots  rise  from  their 
watery  bed.  Later  on  they  put  on  a corn -golden 
hue.  The  most  untidy  fields  are  those  of  the 
sweet  potatoes,  which  grow  on  sandy  soil.  The 
creepers  of  this  spread  over  the  ridges  and  en- 
croach on  the  hollows  between. 

The  farmer’s  tools  are  most  primitive  ; his 

325  y 


John  Chinaman  at  Work 


plough,  harrow,  and  mattocks  were  brought  with 
him  from  the  cradle  of  the  race,  and  evidently  have 
not  been  altered  since.  His  winnowing-machine, 
simple  in  construction,  has  been  copied  in  Europe, 
it  is  said.  The  mattock  is  used  largely  in  agri- 
cultural operations.  In  working  it  is  lifted  high 
above  the  head  and  brought  down  with  force,  and 
the  impetus  of  its  descent  sends  it  well  into  the 
soil.  The  spade  is  but  little  used. 

Thriftiness  under  the  hard  taskmaster  of  limited 
means  is  perhaps  carried  as  far,  if  not  farther, 
than  amongst  any  people.  The  endurance  of  the 
Chinese  coolie  is  great.  The  coal -coolies  coaling 
a vessel  work  hard  and  carry  in  the  usual  Chinese 
manner  the  two  baskets  of  coal,  slung  to  a pole,  up 
the  narrow  gangway  planks  in  a continual  stream 
and  empty  them  down  into  the  bunkers.  The 
earth-coolies,  like  ants,  carry  the  excavated  earth 
in  continuous  lines,  one  with  full  baskets,  the  other 
with  empty  ones  returning  for  another  load.  Thus 
a cutting  is  made  for  a railway,  or  foundations 
for  buildings,  or  reclamation  work  is  carried  on. 
In  Hong  Kong  it  is  a sight  to  see  the  traffic 
of  these  coolies  on  the  road.  There  are  about 
150  houses  in  the  Peak  district  of  the  colony  at 
heights  of  from  1,000  to  1,800  feet  above  the 
sea-level,  including  a large  hotel  and  two  barracks. 
All  the  material  for  these  buildings,  whether  timber, 
brick,  or  tiles,  has  been  carried  by  men,  women, 
and  children  up  a steep  road,  much  of  it  in  a 
hot,  broiling  sun.  The  stone  for  retaining  walls 

326 


Cheerful  Toilers 


and  foundations  was  obtained  on  the  heights  them- 
selves, but  this  likewise  was  carried  by  men  to 
the  site  required. 

The  children  begin  early  at  this  hard  labour, 
taking  a few  bricks  in  the  bamboo  slings  sus- 
pended to  the  two  ends  of  the  pole,  and,  like 
Milo  with  the  calf,  as  they  grow  in  strength  the 
burden  increases,  till  between  thirty  and  forty 
bricks  can  be  carried  at  each  end  of  the  carrying 
pole.  Two  journeys  are  sometimes  made  in  the 
day  with  these  loads,  while  most  would  think  that 
a simple  walk  up  and  down  without  any  burden 
was  quite  enough,  if  not  too  much,  on  a hot  day. 
Not  only  are  these  two  journeys  taken,  but  the 
houses  in  which  these  coolies  herd  are  often  a 
mile  or  two  away  from  their  work. 

A not  uncommon  thing  for  Chinese  when  carry- 
ing heavy  objects  a long  distance  is  to  take  two 
loads  ; they  start  with  one,  and  before  long  put 
it  down  at  the  side  of  the  road,  and  go  back 
for  the  other,  keeping  up  this  alternate  carrying 
of  the  two  till  the  end  of  the  journey  is  reached. 
Thus  a rest  is  obtained  between  each  carry.  With 
the  perspiration  pouring  down  his  naked  back, 
or  barefoot  in  keenly  cold  weather,  and  nothing 
on  his  legs  but  a ragged  pair  of  old  cotton 
trousers,  the  Chinese  coolie  makes  the  best  of  life. 
“ He  earns  whate’er  he  can  ” with  a habitual  readi- 
ness to  labour.  He  can  wash  his  own  clothes  ; 
his  wardrobe  is  small  ; he  can  cook  his  own 
dinner  ; he  is  happy  and  contented,  and  makes 

327 


John  Chinaman  at  Work 


the  best  of  everything,  joking  and  laughing,  and 
seldom  quarrelling  with  any  one. 

Everything  that  surrounds  him  is  conducive  to 
the  expenditure  of  the  least  to  produce  results 
commensurate  to  his  needs.  Even  his  enjoyments, 
barring  the  vices  of  gambling  and  opium-smoking, 
are  on  a reasonable  scale.  A mountain  streamlet, 
if  in  the  country,  provides  him  with  some  cool 
water  to  rinse  out  his  mouth  when  thirsty  (not 
much  cold  water  is  drunk  in  China).  Some  one 
has  placed  an  old  bowl  ready  at  hand  to  catch 
the  water  as  it  trickles  out  of  the  rock,  a little 
stall  under  some  shady  tree  has  laid  on  it  cups 
of  amber-coloured  tea,  a few  cakes,  and  fruit, 
any  and  all  of  which  may  be  had  for  the  expendi- 
ture of  a few  cash.  His  breakfast  he  has  had 
before  leaving  home,  and  his  dinner  he  will  have 
after  his  day’s  work  is  over.  He  carries  his  pipe 
and  tobacco  with  him,  and  has  a whiff  or  two  out 
of  its  tiny  bowl  every  now  and  then,  or  buys  a 
few  cigarettes  for  a few  cash  from  a stall,  and 
one  or  two  may  be  stuck  above  his  ear,  ready 
for  a smoke  when  wanted.  Sometimes  he  carries 
a few  cash  in  his  ear.  His  amusements  are  not 
many  : he  can  always  chat  to  his  heart’s  content, 
and  laugh  and  joke  to  any  extent  with  others 
like-conditioned  as  himself.  The  theatre,  with  its 
entrancing  scenes  of  historic  story  or  broad  farce, 
can  be  enjoyed  for  a mere  trifle. 

It  does  not  seem  much  to  live  for  ; a narrow 
horizon,  the  limitations  great  ; and  yet  he  enjoys 

328 


Happy  though  Poor 

life — one  feels  almost  inclined  to  say,  to  the  full. 
He  starts  it  with  a knowledge  of  how  to  be  happy, 
though  single,  and  he  has  scarcely  learned  that 
when  his  mother  puts  him  into  the  position  of 
“ how  to  be  happy  though  married.”  If  any  one 
has  solved  the  problem  of  how  to  be  happy  though 
poor,  it  is  John  Chinaman,  and  in  many  instances 
he  soon  rises  to  the  position  of  trying  whether 
he  can  be  happy  though  rich. 

A people  capable  of  the  minute  care  and  atten- 
tion, patient  industry,  and  never-relenting  toil 
shown  in  their  carvings  are  the  same  who  have 
constructed  some  of  the  wonders  of  the  world, 
as  all  these  powers  of  application  and  endurance 
ensure,  when  once  commenced,  the  completion  of 
great  undertakings.  An  example  of  this  is  the 
Great  Wall,  1,500  miles  long,  along  the  northern 
boundaries,  which  took  ten  years  to  construct.  The 
Roman  Wall  of  Britain  pales  into  insignificance 
beside  this  enormous  rampart,  which,  as  one  writer 
has  remarked,  would  extend  from  Portugal  to 
Naples.  Nor  is  this  the  only  wall  of  this  kind. 
Dr.  Stein,  the  explorer,  has  recently  found  remains 
of  others,  the  existence  of  which  had  been  for- 
gotten. The  Grand  Canal  is  another  monument 
to  John  Chinaman’s  persevering  toil — an  enterprise 
which  reflects  far  more  credit  upon  the  monarchs 
who  devised  and  executed  it  than  does  the  Great 
Wall  ; and  if  the  time  in  which  it  was  dug,  and 
the  character  of  the  princes  who  planned  it  be 
considered,  few  works  can  be  mentioned  in  the 

329 


John  Chinaman  at  Work 


history  of  any  country  more  admirable  and  use- 
ful. When  originally  constructed,  there  was 
uninterrupted  water  communication  between 
Peking  and  Canton — nearly  the  whole  length  of 
the  Empire. 


330 


CHAPTER  XXV 


What  John  Chinaman  Believes 

DEEP-ROOTED  in  all  his  thoughts  and 
feelings,  John  Chinaman  enshrines  the 
ghosts  of  those  who  gave  him  birth.  These 
spirits  he  fears  always,  even  if  he  reverences 
them  and  desires  their  welfare  ; for  he  believes 
that  on  their  comfort  and  goodwill  depends  his 
well-being. 

Besides  these  the  world  is  filled  with  good  and 
evil  spirits,  for  he  does  not  confine  his  mental 
vision  to  what  his  physical  sight  reveals  to  him, 
but  allows  his  fancies  full  play  in  what  has  been 
described  as  “ the  dim  mysterious  region  beyond 
our  present  range  of  thought.”  John  Chinaman, 
however,  fully  peoples  this  region  with  very  sub- 
stantial shadows  who  roam  in  this  upper  world. 
There  are  hungry  ghosts  amongst  them  for  whom, 
in  his  charity,  as  they  have  no  relatives  to  care 
for  them,  he  provides  a feast  once  a year.  These 
ghostly  feasts — whether  for  his  own  ancestors  or 
for  famished  starveling  spirits,  by  rights  belong- 
ing to  others,  or  for  his  gods,  consist  of  the 

33i 


What  John  Chinaman  Believes 


sublimated  essences  of  solid  food  and  drink,  which 
by  some  subtle  mysterious  manner  serve  to  feed 
with  their  invisible  elements  the  invisible  beings. 
The  hunger  of  the  ghosts  provided  for,  man,  in 
the  persons  of  the  offerer  and  his  family,  can 
fall  on  what  they  have  left.  According  to  John 
Chinaman,  all  are  satisfied,  and,  viewed  from  his 
standpoint,  it  is  a most  satisfactory  proceeding, 
for  not  only  are  the  ghosts  fed  but,  except  for 
the  drink  offerings,  some  of  which  may  be  poured 
out  on  the  ground,  what  has  been  offered,  un- 
diminished in  quantity,  serves  as  a feast  for  the 
living. 

Besides  libations  poured  on  the  ground,  smoking 
candles  have  flared  and  guttered  in  the  wind  or 
on  the  quiet  altar,  and  the  fragrant  savour  of 
incense  floated  in  the  air.  Joss  paper  has  also 
been  changed  to  ashes,  and  somehow  or  other 
penetrated  into  the  spirit-world,  transformed,  so 
John  Chinaman  believes,  by  the  process,  the  unreal 
into  the  real,  the  shadow  into  the  substance,  the 
tinsel  into  silver  and  gold,  by  the  sublimating 
effects  of  the  fire.  Paper  and  bamboo  models 
of  boats  likewise  are  burned,  and  in  the  same 
way  become  boats  fit  to  stem  the  floods  of  Hades. 
Sedan-chairs  and  carriages,  and  even  servants,  all 
made  of  paper  and  bamboo,  are  thus  sent  to 
relatives  and  friends  and  all  who  have  died. 
Equally  flimsy  miniature  houses  are  transformed 
into  gorgeous  substantial  mansions  in  the  Elysian 
Fields  ; paper  garments,  patterns  of  the  real,  into 

332 


Spirits  and  Deities 

warm  clothing  for  naked  spirits.  Thus  fed, 
housed,  clothed,  nourished,  and  every  want  pro- 
vided for,  including  even  mock  cash,  juggled 
somehow  into  real  coin  to  buy  in  the  next  world 
what  he  has  omitted  to  send  from  this,  John 
Chinaman  is  satisfied  that  hell’s  evils  are  over- 
come, and  heaven  resounds  with  praise  and 
enhanced  joy,  more  especially  as  he  has  doubtless 
also  spent  substantial  money  on  priests,  monks, 
and  nuns,  to  say  masses  to  release  the  departed 
from  the  pains  of  hell. 

Besides  these  spirits  of  the  departed,  the  world 
is  peopled  with  beings  who  but  seldom  reveal 
themselves  to  the  eye  of  flesh.  Spirits  reside  in 
the  wide-spreading  banyan-trees  in  the  temple- 
yard  and  at  the  corners  of  the  bridges,  and  are 
remembered  with  offerings.  Some  of  the  former 
worthies  of  earth  are  now  worthier  than  ever,  as 
they  have  been  entrusted  with  different  functions 
of  Nature.  Fire  is  ruled  over  by  the  God  of 
Fire,  who  was  the  wick  or  flame  of  a lamp  in 
a temple  for  long  ages,  until  finally  he  attained 
to  the  sanctity  of  a temple  and  shrine  for  himself. 
A midwife  in  Canton,  who  lived  a century  or  two 
ago,  has  been  deified  as  the  patron  saint  of  women 
at  the  most  critical  period  of  their  lives.  A famous 
general  in  feudal  China  two  thousand  years  or 
more  ago  is  now  the  God  of  War.  All  the  forces 
of  Nature  have  gods  presiding  over  them. 

Down  in  the  pearly  depths  of  the  Yellow  or 
China  Sea  sits  in  a palace  of  delight  the  Ocean 

333 


What  John  Chinaman  Believes 


Dragon  King,  who  sends  the  rain,  mounting  the 
sky  and  riding  on  the  clouds,  spouting  out  the 
showers  as  they  fall.  His  duty  is  assigned  him, 
and  the  precise  quantity  he  is  to  send,  the  measure 
of  his  floods  of  blessings  being  fixed  by  the 
inexorable  decrees  and  commands  of  the  Gem- 
meous  Ruler,  the  Supreme  Ruler  over  gods  and 
demons  in  the  Taoist  hierarchy  of  gods.  This 
same  Dragon  King  of  the  Ocean  Depths  lost  his 
head  once  for  disobedience  ; for  he  sent  more 
rain  than  ordered  for  the  purpose  of  falsifying 
the  predictions  of  a soothsayer,  and  was  beheaded 
in  consequence. 

The  sailor,  especially  the  rough  and  rugged 
Fokienese  navigator,  puts  his  faith  in  a goddess 
who,  while  in  the  flesh,  and  sitting  at  her  spinning- 
wheel,  fell  one  day  into  a trance-like  sleep,  and 
her  spirit  leaving  her  body  rode  on  the  storm, 
and  rescued  her  father  and  one  brother  from  the 
deep.  She  would  have  succeeded  in  towing  her 
other  brother’s  boat  out  of  danger  as  well,  had 
it  not  been  that  her  mother  waked  her,  and  the 
thread  in  her  mouth,  which  was  the  tow-line 
attached  to  the  bows  of  the  subsequently  wrecked 
vessel,  snapped,  and  her  brother  was  drowned. 

The  women  venerate  especially  the  virgin 
Goddess  of  Mercy,  the  daughter,  centuries  ago, 
of  an  Indian  king,  who  withstood  all  attempts  to 
force  her  into  marriage.  Biting  her  finger,  she 
extinguished,  with  the  blood  which  spurted  out,  the 
flames  in  the  palace  which  were  lit  to  coerce  her 

334 


Ghosts  and  Demons 


into  yielding  or  being  destroyed.  The  personi- 
fication of  tender  mercy,  on  her  visit  to  Hades 
she  pitied  the  poor  wretches  being  punished,  and 
poured  some  of  the  precious  dew  or  holy  water 
from  her  vase,  and  thus  eased  a poor  soul  being 
brayed  in  a mortar.  This  and  kindred  actions 
called  out  a vigorous  protest  on  the  part  of  the 
officials  of  the  Lower  Regions  in  favour  of  justice 
being  done  and  punishment  being  allowed  to  con- 
tinue, as  the  recompense  of  evil  deeds.  Like  the 
Buddhas — for  she  is  a Buddha  also — she  sits  on 
a lotus  as  a throne  ; an  infant  is  often  on  one 
arm,  or  sitting  in  her  lap.  Her  sublime  grace 
has  charmed  the  demon  who  stands  on  her  right, 
and  made  him  a slave  of  compassionate  love.  Her 
pity  and  loving-kindness  are  vouchsafed  to  all  ; 
for  she  hears  with  compassion  the  prayers  of  those 
who  are  in  distress. 

But  the  hosts  of  the  unseen  are  innumerable. 
Nearly  every  house-door  has  pasted  on  it  the 
figures  of  two  ancient  generals,  who  guarded  an 
emperor  from  the  disturbance  of  evil,  noisy  spirits, 
and  who  are  therefore  trusted  in  by  all  for  a 
similar  purpose  now  ; for  evil  ghosts  and  demons 
are  everywhere.  They  rush  along  the  streets,  if 
a straight  course  is  allowed  them,  and  so,  to 
prevent  this,  turns  and  comers  are  made  in  the 
narrow  streets,  much  to  the  inconvenience  of  all, 
as  well  as  of  the  bad  spirits,  and  houses  also 
jut  out  to  obstruct  their  course.  To  prevent  their 
loitering  at  these  comers  stones  are  set  up  or 

335 


What  John  Chinaman  Believes 

let  into  the  wall,  with  the  awful  words  on  them, 
“ A stone  from  the  Tie  Mountain,”  and,  aghast, 
the  ghosts  sweep  round  the  corner. 

The  benign  God  of  the  Locality,  often  with 
his  wife,  sits  in  a shrine  at  many  a street  comer  ; 
for  the  evil  spirits  of  the  English  public -houses 
do  not  infest  these  spots  in  the  Chinese  streets. 
Shrines  and  altars  to  these  tutelary  spirits  abound. 
At  each  shop-front,  in  the  end  of  the  counter 
which  separates  part  of  the  shop  from  the  street, 
a little  niche  is  seen  in  the  stone-  or  brick-work, 
and  in  it  on  red  paper  or  a board  can  be  read 
an  inscription  which  bears  the  name  of  the  God 
of  Wealth  ; for  the  Chinese  are  honest  in  acknow- 
ledging that  they  worship  wealth.  Many  in  the 
West  do  likewise,  but  will  not  allow  that  they 
do.  This  inscription  is  often  an  invocation  to 
riches  to  come  and  bless  the  shopkeeper  ; incense 
night  and  morning  is  lighted  before  this,  and 
offerings  often  made.  Another  shrine  is  in  the 
shop  itself,  where  also  incense  is  his  service,  as 
well  as  other  acknowledgments  of  the  god’s 
presence. 

A list  of  Chinese  gods  and  deities  would  be 
long,  and  never  complete,  as  new  ones  are  con- 
stantly being  added  to  the  number  ; and  what 
would  serve  for  one  part  of  the  country  would 
not  be  appropriate  to  another.  The  gods  have 
come  down  to  the  Chinese  in  the  form  of  men, 
or  rather  men  have  risen  to  the  heavens  in  the 
form  of  gods,  for  nearly  all  the  deified  heroes 

336 


Comprehension 

or  saints  have  had  a human  history,  either  ancient 
or  modern. 

The  popular  belief  is  that  the  spirit  of  the  god 
takes  up  its  abode  in  the  conventional  image 
which  man  prepares  for  his  dwelling,  after  the 
service  of  instalment  and  induction,  which  is  signi- 
fied by  a vermilion  dot  on  the  eye.  If  a temple 
is  to  be  repaired,  the  gods  are  asked  to  take 
themselves  away  until  all  is  ready  for  their  return, 
when  they  are  invited  back.  It  seems  altogether 
very  much  like  grown-up  people  playing  at  dolls, 
only  it  is  in  real  earnest,  and  not  make-believe, 
and  the  people  are  dominated  by  the  fear  of  these 
gods  which  they  have  highly  exalted  to  this  regal 
state  to  rule  the  destinies  of  man  from  that  high 
eminence  conferred  on  them  by  their  worshippers. 

The  system  of  Buddhist  philosophy  has  pandered 
to  the  human  cry  of  the  lowly  dwellers  on  earth 
who  felt  unable  to  scale  the  icy  heights  of  the 
philosophical  self-negation  of  the  Indian  reformer. 
Buddhism  has  taken  under  her  wing,  in  worldly 
wisdom  and  eclectic  selection,  many  an  idol,  and 
hatched  many  a belief  entirely  incompatible  with 
her  original  tenets  of  belief.  With  the  tolerance 
of  all  beliefs,  typical  of  the  ordinary  Chinese  mind, 
Taoism  often  shares  in  the  same  shrine  of  the 
human  heart,  and  its  gods  are  also  sometimes 
companions  in  the  same  material  fane,  and  with 
them  primus  inter  pares  sits  Confucius,  the  Sage 
of  All  Ages. 

Temples  abound  containing  a pantheon  of 
337 


What  John  Chinaman  Believes 


Buddhist  or  Taoist  gods.  In  the  former  a trinity 
of  the  Three  Precious  Buddhas  is  enshrined  in 
the  place  of  honour  ; representing  in  the  exoteric 
form  of  the  faith  the  esoteric  beliefs  of  the  three 
most  precious  things  of  the  Buddhist  belief,  vary- 
ing in  different  fanes,  as  different  views  are  held 
as  to  the  pre-eminence  of  the  component  elements 
of  the  faith.  Gaudama’s  followers  are  likewise 
deified — first,  18,  the  most  common  number,  then 
500,  and  even  10,000.  Numerous  other  Buddhist 
saints  and  even  demi-gods  taken  over  from  primi- 
tive beliefs  share  the  main  buildings  of  the  temples, 
or  the  side  chapels. 

The  same  holds  good  of  Taoism,  which  has 
created  a trinity  of  its  own,  to  vie  with  Buddhism, 
though,  like  it,  it  has  sunk  from  a system  of  philo- 
sophy to  one  of  idolatry.  In  a Taoist  temple,  if 
large,  may  sometimes  be  seen  a hall  set  apart 
for  the  images  of  the  threescore  beings  who  are 
supposed  to  preside  over  the  sixty  years  of  the 
Chinese  sexagenary  cycle.  Then  in  the  city  temple 
will  be  seen  in  the  cloisters  of  its  outer  compart- 
ments scenes  representing  the  Ten  Courts  of  Hades, 
each  with  its  judge,  and  lictors,  as  on  earth, 
torturing  poor  wretches  for  the  peccadilloes  of 
killing  insects,  as  well  as  for  more  flagrant  sins 
and  crimes.  Hades  is  modelled  on  earth. 

Then,  besides  the  larger  temples  and  monas- 
teries, smaller  temples  are  scattered  all  over  the 
cities,  towns,  and  villages,  and  even  along  the 
country  roads,  almost  as  thick  as  public -houses 

338 


SHANGHAI  CITY  TEMPLE 


Temples  and  Idols 

are  in  England.  Ancestral  halls  also  abound, 
where  the  tablets  of  the  deceased  parents  are  set 
up  for  worship. 

Now  and  then  some  defunct  member  of  the 
human  race  is  canonised  by  public  opinion,  and 
from  some  wonder-working  miracle,  or  cure, 
believed  in  by  the  credulous  people,  or  from  an 
answer  to  some  petition  or  prayer,  takes  his  or  her 
hold  on  the  superstitious  minds,  and  public  estima- 
tion soon  grows  in  the  new  idol’s  favour.  First 
a small  wayside  shrine  serves  as  a mark  of  esteem 
in  which  the  new-found  saint  is  held  ; but  as 
popularity  increases  a small  temple  rises  to  displace 
it,  until  eventually,  as  the  years  roll  by,  a larger 
fane  appears,  and  other  gods  find  shrines  in  it, 
and  other  subsidiary  buildings  grow  up  round 
it.  Worshippers  appear  on  the  saint’s  day  in  great 
multitudes,  crowding  the  courts  and  thronging  the 
approaches. 

The  idol’s  birthday  is  the  equivalent  of  the 
saints’  days  in  Roman  Catholic  countries.  Strange 
to  say,  the  author  knows  of  one  city  where  it  does 
not  fall  on  the  same  day  at  the  two  or  three 
temples  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  a particular 
goddess. 

Large  incense-sticks  are  sometimes  brought 
home  by  the  women-folk  after  a visit  to  the 
temple.  A roaring  trade  is  done  in  candles, 
incense,  &c.  At  one  temple  in  Hong  Kong,  and 
the  same  happens  elsewhere,  on  and  about  the 
time  of  the  saintly  birthday,  booths  of  matting 

339 


What  John  Chinaman  Believes 

arise  for  the  sale  of  these  accessories  of  heathen 
worship,  to  disappear  when  the  short  season  is 
over. 

Monasteries  and  nunneries  are  found  in  the 
land  : the  former  more  often  in  wooded  glen  by 
the  banks  of  some  bubbling  mountain  brook,  and 
here  pilgrims  resort,  combining  a love  of  Nature 
with  the  exercise  of  religious  observances.  Monas- 
teries are  also  found  in  busy  cities,  as  well  as 
convents.  Both  monks  and  nuns  are  held  in  very 
little  estimation  by  the  Chinese. 

Buddhism  and  Taoism  have  seen  their  best  days 
in  China.  To  a great  extent  they  are  decadent 
faiths.  The  Chinese  are  ready  to  accept  a belief 
in  anything  strange.  The  attitude  they  appear 
often  to  take  is,  that  it  may  be  well  to  take  the 
chance  of  something  proving  useful  and  worthy 
of  belief.  Hence  the  religious  belief  of  John 
Chinaman  is  a conglomerate  one  : a dash  of 

Nature  worship,  in  many  of  its  numerous  develop- 
ments, and  the  cult  of  ancestor  worship.  Most  of 
the  Old  World’s  primitive  beliefs  are  to  be  traced 
in  survivals  in  China — a traditional  belief  in  the 
Supreme  Ruler,  a providence  typified  by  heaven 
and  earth,  and  on  all  this  is  superimposed  the 
idolatrous  systems  of  Buddhism  and  Taoism,  which 
have  opened  the  way  for  a gross  mass  of  super- 
stition. 

As  to  his  ordinary  beliefs,  apart  from  his 
religious  feelings,  one  will  find  a counterpart  in 
the  absurd  theories  and  utterly  erroneous  opinions 

340 


A PHYSIOGNOMIST 


Strange  Objects 

held  in  our  own  lands  some  few  centuries  ago. 
What  at  times  most  unfortunately  affects  foreign 
intercourse  in  an  unpleasant  manner,  is  the  ascrib- 
ing of  the  most  astounding  powers  to  the  foreigner 
who  penetrates  into  China.  We  appear  strange 
objects  to  the  unsophisticated  native,  with  our  blue 
eyes  (or  green,  as  he  calls  them),  red  hair,  and 
white  faces.  He  believes  us  so  wonderfully 
equipped  as  to  be  able  to  see  into  the  solid  earth 
and  discover  hidden  treasures.  He  further  believes 
that  we  can  and  do  take  the  dark  eyes  out  of 
Chinese  babies,  whom  we  murder  for  that  purpose, 
and  make  wonderful  sight-seeing  preparations  with 
them.  In  proof  of  this  are  the  skeletons  found  in 
our  hospitals,  and  the  graves  of  foundlings  buried 
in  orphanages  established  by  foreigners  ; for 
Chinese  infants  do  not  receive  decent  interment 
amongst  the  natives. 


34i 


z 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


New  Life  in  Old  China 

CHINA  awoke  the  other  day  after  a Rip  van 
Winkle  sleep  of  centuries  to  realise  that  she 
who  had  been  first  would  soon  be  last  in  the 
march  of  the  nations.  She  had  been  the  leading 
Power  in  the  Far  East.  Nations  near  and  far 
sought  her  smile,  or  trembled  at  her  frown.  Her 
commerce  spread  far  and  wide  in  her  own  vessels 
and  penetrated  to  the  farthest  parts  of  their  then 
known  world.  Her  armies  subdued  the  neighbour- 
ing nations,  and  even  carried  war  to  the  borders  of 
India.  Her  civilisation  became  that  of  the  Far 
Eastern  world  ; for  her  near  neighbours  based 
their  letters,  their  literature,  their  art  on  China’s. 
Her  inventions  preceded  similar  revelations  to 
master-minds  in  the  West,  or  in  some  cases  may 
even  have  given  hints  to  the  West,  and  in  others 
gradually  spread  through  the  East  to  the  West. 
Her  sages  preached  the  highest  morality  known  to 
many  a nation,  and  were  accepted  as  the  teachers 
of  neighbouring  peoples.  Her  priests  travelled  to 
the  distant  land  of  India  in  the  interests  of  what 

342 


The  Old  Style 

they  considered  a better  faith,  to  learn  more  fully 
of  it,  and  bring  back  its  sacred  books  and  relics, 
and  then  passed  on  the  knowledge  they  had 
acquired  to  Japan  and  other  countries  receptive 
of  the  faith. 

At  last  the  inexorable  decrees  of  Fate  seemed 
to  thunder  forth  that  iron  fetters  should  confine 
her  thoughts  in  the  channels  prepared  for  them 
in  antiquity.  Her  scholars  glided  down  the  Stream 
of  Time,  content  to  rest  on  the  achievements  of 
the  past,  Age  at  the  prow  and  Old  Custom  at  the 
helm.  The  glorious  fabric  of  knowledge  and  learn- 
ing, the  foundations  of  which  had  been  laid  with 
such  honour,  and  bid  fair  to  be  the  cynosure  of 
all  eyes,  developed  no  further  than  a “ crypt  of 
the  Past.” 

What  was,  has  been,  is  now,  and  ever  shall 
be,  world  without  end — that  was  the  creed.  As 
the  women’s  feet  were  bound  in  bandages,  and  lost 
their  power  of  free  and  healthy  action,  so  the  minds 
of  the  men  were  “ cribbed,  cabined,  confined,” 
by  the  tight  fetters  of  iron-bound  custom,  of  age- 
old  antiquity,  and  unfitted  for  the  free  stepping  out 
on  the  path  of  progress.  China  was  a valley  of 
dry  bones,  bleached  by  the  apathy  of  ages.  “ Son 
of  man,  can  these  dry  bones  live?  ” The  bois- 
terous gales  of  the  north,  the  softer  winds  of  the 
west  have  blown,  and  at  last  there  is  a stirring, 
as  the  Zeitgeist  has  penetrated  these  remotest  parts 
of  the  earth. 

Why  this  state  of  things?  What  had  served  in 
343 


New  Life  in  Old  China 


ages  past  was  thought  fit  for  ages  to  come.  Glory 
and  honour  and  power  had  all  come  from  what  had 
been  tried  and  had  not  been  found  wanting. 
Why,  when  the  foundations  of  the  Empire  had 
stood  strong  on  it  ; when  the  eminence  of  the 
Empire  had  resulted  from  it  ; when  the  submission 
of  nations  had  been  its  reward — should  it  not  be 
the  hope  and  salvation  of  the  future?  All  round 
this  Central  Empire  of  civilisation  were  inferior 
peoples  and  nations  ; barbarians,  many  of  them, 
with  no  fixed  abodes — nomads  with  no  written  lan- 
guage or  literature,  savage  and  wild. 

When  from  beyond  the  Western  Seas  men  of 
stranger  tribes  arrived,  like  ghosts  in  appearance, 
in  strange  ships,  with  apparently  no  manners,  who 
tore  up  the  printed  page  and  misused  the  written 
leaf,  they  apparently  were  other  barbarians,  ready 
with  tribute  for  the  Son  of  Heaven,  and  should  be 
treated  as  such,  and  if  perfectly  submissive  allowed 
to  depart,  their  tribute-bearing  mission  over.  But 
these  strangers  asserted  their  independence  ; they 
determined  to  stay  and  trade,  they  insisted  on  their 
equality  to,  if  not  superiority  over,  the  civilised 
Chinese.  Such  presumption,  such  arrogance,  could 
not  be  tolerated  or  endured  for  a moment.  They 
must  be  kept  in  check  and  ruled  with  a strong 
hand.  If  his  Imperial  Majesty  allowed  them  to 
remain,  the  regulations  laid  down  for  their 
guidance  must  be  rigidly  adhered  to. 

An  increasing  trade  was  carried  on  with  this 
stranger  within  their  gates.  Restricted  on  every 

344 


Foreign  Concessions 

hand  and  hampered  in  their  operations,  the  foreign 
(English)  merchant  gained  a foothold  in  the 
Chinese  Empire  at  the  point  of  the  sword,  and 
Hong  Kong  became  a British  colony.  Foreign  guns 
also  opened  the  way  for  settlements  at  the  treaty 
ports,  which  were  increased  gradually,  having  been 
gained  first  by  force  of  arms  and  latterly  by 
diplomacy  ; thus  treaty  port  followed  treaty  port, 
extorted  from  the  Chinese,  till  now  they  are  begin- 
ning to  open  them  themselves.  The  Portuguese 
had  already  established  themselves  at  Macao,  now 
more  than  three  centuries  ago. 

Different  nations  had  concessions  at  Shanghai, 
Hankow,  Tientsin,  and  elsewhere.  Russia  was 
creeping  in  from  the  north,  taking  slice  after  slice 
of  the  northern  possessions  of  the  Empire.  Then 
she  reached  a hand  down  and  grasped  Port 
Arthur.  England  followed  suit  with  Weihaiwei. 
Then  other  nations  wished  to  continue  the  grab- 
bing. Italy  wanted  a port  in  Fukien.  China 
gasped  at  the  demands  made  on  her  for  territory. 
Japan  had  already  taken  Formosa  in  war,  and  John 
Chinaman  at  last  had  the  courage  to  say  “ No  ! ” 
The  spoilers  agreed  to  spoil  no  more,  but  to 
preserve  the  Empire  intact.  Japan  and  China  had 
come  to  blows,  and  the  “ monkey  race,”  as  John 
Chinaman  insolently  called  the  Japanese,  his  neigh- 
bours, had  beaten  him,  to  the  surprise  of  the  world. 

Japan  saw  that  if  Russia  once  succeeded  in  her 
designs  on  the  sovereignty  of  China,  and  engulfed 
Manchuria  and  took  Korea,  she  might  tremble  in 

345 


New  Life  in  Old  China 


her  shoes  for  her  own  kingdom,  so  exerting  her- 
self, drove  her  enemy  out  of  Port  Arthur, 
recovering  it  for  the  Chinese.  This  staggered 
the  world,  and  China  wondered,  and  pondered  deep 
the  lesson. 

All  this  time  another  secret  silent  conquest  of 
China  had  been  going  on,  despised  by  many,  over- 
looked by  others,  almost  ignored,  disdained  by 
the  majority  of  the  Celestials,  wrapped  up  as  they 
were  in  their  pride  and  conceit.  The  missionaries, 
besides  their  direct  evangelistic  labours,  had  been 
busy  in  producing  geographies,  arithmetics,  works 
on  science,  by  the  hundreds  and  thousands,  and 
teaching  them  in  their  schools.  A few  others  also 
assisted  in  bringing  Western  knowledge  to  the 
Chinese.  Thus  many  minds  were  being  prepared 
for  what  was  to  come.  There  were  two  factors  at 
least,  if  there  were  not  others,  ready  to  combine 
and  act  as  leverage  on  the  fulcrum  of  the  Japanese 
victories  over  the  West  and  rouse  China  from  her 
inertia  of  ages.  If  Japan  could  conquer  a Western 
nation  by  the  application  of  a Western  army  and 
navy,  why  could  not  China  rise  to  the  occasion, 
and,  copying  Japanese  methods,  learn  from  the 
West  to  keep  the  West  at  bay?  So  said  some  of 
China’s  progressives. 

A wave  of  patriotism  burst  forth  from  the  cave 
of  the  Western  winds.  Latent  in  the  Chinese 
character,  buried  for  ages  in  petty  provincial 
jealousies,  stifled,  this  patriotism  has  risen  stagger- 
ing like  a drunkard,  drunk  from  the  sleep  of  ages, 

346 


Rapid  Changes 

striking  out  sometimes  blindly  for  home  and 
country,  unreasoning  in  its  uncertain  course  ; but, 
sobering,  it  will  ere  long  use  its  strength  aright. 
China  moves  at  last  ; but  its  new  life  has  been 
won  with  birth-throes,  and  more  than  one  Chinese 
patriot  has  died  in  the  struggle,  and  others  have 
suffered. 

The  late  Chinese  Emperor,  in  the  hands  of  an 
ardent  reformer,  was  rapidly  hastening  progress, 
perhaps  too  rapidly,  when  the  reactionary  forces 
awoke,  and  all  but  crushed  him  in  their  anger. 
Slower  progress  has  been  the  order  of  the  day 
since  then  ; for  China  was  scarcely  prepared  for 
such  drastic  changes  as  were  then  being  in- 
augurated. Now  the  whole  air  is  quivering  with 
change.  It  has  not  always  been  steady  progress  : 
contradictory  edicts  have  been  issued  ; now  a 
promise  of  change  has  been  rescinded  ; now  an 
order  has  not  been  obeyed  ; but  the  general  trend 
has  been  a progressive  one.  The  forces  of  opposi- 
tion are  now  apparently  slumbering.  Whether  they 
will  assert  themselves  in  explosive  energy  remains 
to  be  seen.  Too  much  has  been  done,  one  would 
fain  hope  and  ardently  believe,  to  render  retro- 
gression possible.  That  there  may  be  checks 
here  and  there  may  be  taken  for  granted  ; but 
the  clock  cannot  be  set  back  permanently.  The 
mainspring  of  Chinese  official  life — its  unique 
educational  system — is  being  remodelled  through- 
out the  Empire.  The  examination  halls  of  bygone 
ages,  where  generations  have  sat  for  the  com- 

347 


New  Life  in  Old  China 


petitive  examinations,  have  been  taken  down,  and 
in  their  place  normal  schools  have  been  erected. 
The  Confucian  classics  are  being  ousted,  their  place 
being  taken  by  modern  text-books  of  knowledge 
and  science. 

The  antiquated  modes  of  travel  are  being  gradu- 
ally changed.  The  process  has  been  going  on 
for  a number  of  years  past,  and  it  is  all  the 
better  that  it  should  not  dislocate  and  throw  into 
confusion,  rebellion,  and  distress  those  who  have 
earned  their  living  by  the  old  methods.  The  new 
and  the  old  are  still  to  be  seen  together.  First  came 
the  fine  American  river  steamers  on  the  Canton 
River  and  the  Yangtse,  and  ocean-going  steamers 
navigated  the  China  Seas  as  soon,  or  even  before 
that.  An  American  firm’s  fleet  of  steamers  was 
purchased  years  ago  and  added  to,  and  they  have 
run  up  and  down  the  coast  under  a Chinese  com- 
pany’s flag  and  the  Yellow  Dragon  flag,  with 
foreign  captains  and  officers.  This  is  the  largest 
enterprise  of  the  kind  engaged  in  ; but  numerous 
single  or  small  steamers  are  Chinese-owned,  run- 
ning mainly  on  inland  waters,  and  hundreds  of 
small  steam-launches  ply  up  and  down  the 
numerous  rivers  and  waterways  of  China.  These 
are  manned  entirely  by  Chinese.  They  are  built 
and  engined  also  by  Chinese  shipbuilding  and 
engineering  firms,  which  have  sprung  up  for  the 
purpose  in  the  last  few  years. 

One  sees  the  whole  transition  process  as  it 
appears  to  be,  though  perhaps  not  really  alto- 

348 


STREET  SCENE : MOUKDEN. 


Transition 


gether  such,  in  operation  : there  is  the  imitation 
of  a stern-wheeler  in  the  tread-mill  man-driven 
passage-boat  ; there  is  the  steam-launch  which 
carries  passengers  ; there  is  the  steam-launch 
which  tows  one  of  the  old-fashioned  passage-boats 
crowded  with  passengers — all  on  the  Canton  River. 
The  last  arose  from  the  opposition  of  mandarins  ; 
but  it  is  doubtless  useful  nowadays,  from  the 
immense  number  which  can  be  carried  on  the 
passage-boat. 

Apart  from  what  has  happened  in  Peking,  be- 
ginnings have  been  made  in  one  or  two  other 
places  to  make  the  roads  and  streets  wider  ; but 
a whole  broadening  and  relaying  of  thoroughfares 
will  be  necessary  before  anything  in  the  shape 
of  vehicular  traffic  can  penetrate  the  narrow  lanes 
and  alleys  that  serve  for  streets  in  most  Chinese 
cities.  A broad  carriage-road  has  for  some  years 
been  open  for  traffic  in  Nanking,  the  ancient  capital 
of  China.  In  Canton  a bund,  or  embankment 
as  it  is  called  in  England,  is  being  constructed 
along  the  north  bank  of  the  river  ; and  this  is  surely 
a remarkable  evidence  of  progress. 

Railways  are  being  constructed  (see  “ How  John 
Chinaman  Travels  ”),  and  where  introduced  are 
largely  made  use  of  by  the  Chinese. 

Matches  have  driven  out  the  old-fashioned  flint 
and  steel.  It  was  first  Swedish  matches  which 
were  imported  in  large  numbers  ; then  Japan 
poured  them  into  the  country  ; and  now  China 
is  beginning  to  make  them  herself.  The  demand 

349 


New  Life  in  Old  China 


for  them  is  great.  The  old  shallow  saucer  of  oil, 
or  tumbler  with  a layer  of  oil  on  the  top  of 
water,  and  the  rush  wick,  are  fast  going  before 
the  kerosene  lamp,  and  that  has  not  entirely  ousted 
it  before  the  electric  light  has  established  itself 
in  the  streets  and  shops  of  some  of  the  large 
cities. 

The  enlightened  statesman  and  poet  So  Toong- 
poh  spoke  centuries  ago  of  bringing  a water-supply 
into  the  city  of  Canton,  instead  of  relying  on 
'wells  and  the  river  ; but  it  needed  the  stimulus 
of  contact  with  the  West  to  bring  the  old  dream 
to  a reality.  The  author  some  two  or  three  years 
ago  saw  water-pipes  being  laid  under  the  streets 
in  the  black  filth  of  the  sewers  for  this  purpose. 
Already  for  some  years  overground  water-pipes, 
to  convey  water  from  the  river  at  Canton  to  ex- 
tinguish fires,  have  been  laid  in  the  streets  of 
that  city,  the  water  being  pumped  into  them  when 
necessary  by  steam-power  from  the  stations  on 
the  river-banks  built  for  that  purpose.  Previous 
to  this  the  public  wells  in  the  streets  afforded 
the  supply  to  the  small  manual  fire-engines  used. 

Shops  after  the  Western  style  are  beginning 
to  appear,  filled  with  modern  books,  such  as  trans- 
lations into  Chinese  of  scientific  works  as  well 
as  of  novels.  These  shops  are  appearing  cheek 
by  jowl  with  the  old  shops,  stored  with  the  old 
material  for  acquiring  Celestial  lore. 

A newspaper  press  has  been  created,  which  is 
progressive  in  all  of  its  tendencies,  widely  read,  and 

35° 


Newspapers 


which  will  doubtless  be  more  and  more  an  exponent 
of  the  wishes  and  feelings  of  the  people.  True 
it  is  that  China,  as  in  so  many  things,  took  the 
lead  (in  the  Peking  Gazette ) of  other  nations  in 
the  issue  of  a daily  sheet  of  Government  news  ; 
it  is  not  a newspaper  in  the  modem  acceptation 
of  the  tenn,  but  a Government  gazette.  The 
modem  newspaper  press  of  China  has  been  most 
rapid  in  its  growth,  till  now  many  cities  have  their 
newspaper,  and  others  boast  of  not  a few.  The 
illustrated  paper  in  pamphlet  form  has  also  made 
its  appearance  ; and  a wise  proceeding  on  the 
part  of  a few  newspapers  is  the  publication  of 
a portion — and  of  the  whole  paper  in  one  or  two 
cases — in  the  everyday  speech  of  the  people. 
Where  formerly  it  was  simply  the  educated  people 
of  the  provinces  who  took  in  a copy  of  a reprint 
of  the  Government  gazette,  now  it  is  a common 
sight  to  see  a local  paper  in  the  hands  of  the 
ordinary  shopkeeper  and  of  the  porter  in  a firm. 
Wherever  one  looks  one  sees  the  beginning  of 
a new  life  in  old  China. 

Notice  has  already  been  called  in  the  chapter 
on  education  to  the  new  life  which  young  John 
Chinaman  is  growing  up  into,  with  the  new  ideas 
and  ideals  of  life  and  its  purposes  given  him  in 
the  new  schools,  which  have  sprung  up  all  over 
the  Empire. 

It  will  be  a pity,  with  all  this  material  progress, 
if  China  copies  the  example  of  the  West  in  having 
enormous  armies  and  navies.  Two  small  navies 

35 1 


New  Life  in  Old  China 


have  been  destroyed  in  recent  wars  ; but  another 
is  in  contemplation,  and  numerous  mosquito  gun- 
boats may  be  seen  lying  at  anchorage  belonging 
to  provincial  authorities,  and  in  time  the  old- 
fashioned  war-junks  will  be  a thing  of  the  past. 
There  is  a large  nucleus  of  a foreign-trained  army 
ready  for  development  into  China’s  standing  army  : 
so  that  the  supersession  of  the  old  native  army  is 
being  gradually  accomplished. 

New  police  forces  have  been  formed,  to  take 
the  place  of  the  effete  bodies  of  soldiers  whose 
duty  it  was  to  undertake  such  work  in  the  past. 

And,  best  sign  of  all  in  the  present  uplift  of 
China,  the  moral  sense  of  the  nation  is  now  assert- 
ing itself  in  the  determination  to  put  an  end  to 
the  insidious  vice  of  opium-smoking  : both  the 

Government  and  the  best  sense  of  the  people  are 
at  one  in  the  matter  ; and  those  qualified  to  judge 
believe  that  it  will  be  done. 

One  of  China’s  foremost  statesmen  is  desirous 
of  doing  away  with  polygamy,  which  is  responsible 
for  much  evil  in  China.  To  begin  with,  it  gives 
to  the  Chinese  a loose  idea  of  the  proper  relation- 
ships of  the  sexes  ; it  produces  no  end  of  discord 
in  family  life  ; it  demands  from  the  official  classes 
a disproportionate  expenditure  and  it  keeps  woman 
in  a low  position. 

The  moral  sense  of  the  nation  should  rise  against 
polygamy,  which  is  believed  to  be  responsible, 
amongst  the  other  evils  already  named,  for  much 
of  the  bribery  and  corruption,  as  the  large  families 

352 


Reforms  Needed 


it  entails  requires  officials  to  obtain  the  money 
for  their  maintenance  in  some  way  or  other. 

The  first  steps  towards  a parliament  have  been 
taken,  and  have  met  with  great  success.  Constitu- 
tional government  will  also  soon  follow. 

Much  remains  to  be  done.  Only  a beginning 
has  been  made  as  yet.  Amongst  some  of  the 
reforms  that  are  clamant  are  the  following  : 
Adequate  remuneration  of  officials  should  be  pro- 
vided, so  as  to  make  it  possible  for  the  mandarin 
to  rule  in  equity,  without  the  almost  irresistible 
temptation  to  accept  bribes  and  pervert  justice, 
and  to  render  it  unnecessary  for  him  to  resort 
to  forced  contributions  from  those  under  him  to 
carry  on  these  changes,  and  to  obviate  the  more 
questionable  methods  he  has  to  employ  to  provide 
the  needful  funds  for  tjie  everyday  expenditure 
his  position  entails. 

Domestic  slavery  should  be  done  away  with  ; 
that  system  which  gives  rise  to  much  cruelty,  and 
provides  a cloak  for  kidnapping  and  its  attendant 
evils,  as  well  as  affording  unwilling  recruits  to 
the  ranks  of  abandoned  women.  A beginning  has 
been  made  towards  a betterment  of  this  system. 

Reforms  in  law  and  justice  which  have  been 
now  and  then  mentioned  as  about  to  be  inaugurated 
should  be  carried  out  without  further  delay,  and 
prison  reform  should  be  more  rapidly  established. 

Piracy  should  be  put  down  with  a strong  hand, 
for  it  renders  travel  unsafe,  the  life  of  the  traveller 
uncertain,  and  destroys  confidence.  As  auxiliary 

353 


New  Life  in  Old  China 


to  this,  the  soldiers’  pay  should  be  regular  and 
certain,  the  construction  of  railways  pushed  on, 
to  provide  a rapid  transit  for  foodstuffs  in  times 
of  famine  ; the  silted-up  river-beds  dredged,  and 
afforestation  begun,  to  prevent  the  great  devasta- 
tion wrought  by  floods. 

These  are  but  a few  of  the  urgent  needs  of 
China,  a few  of  the  urgently  required  reforms, 
some  if  not  all  of  which  are  engaging,  or  will 
shortly  engage,  the  best  attention  of  the  now 
thoroughly  aroused  and  progressive  Chinese. 


354 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


What  Missionaries  Have  Done  for 
John  Chinaman 

OTHING  is  more  natural  than  that  such  a 


country  as  China,  occupying  a twelfth  of  the 
habitable  globe,  and  such  a people  as  the  Chinese, 
so  full  of  interest  in  many  ways,  should  attract  the 
attention  of  Christendom  and  suggest  to  it  mis- 
sionary enterprise.  This  suggestion  seems  to  have 
been  acted  upon  quite  early  in  the  Christian  era. 
According  to  the  Nestorian  tablet,  dated  a.d.  781, 
and  discovered  accidentally  in  China  in  1625,  mis- 
sionaries of  this  Church  arrived  in  that  land  in 
505,  though  now  scarcely  a trace  of  them  is  left. 
Since  the  year  1292,  when  John  Corvino  was 
sent  to  China,  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  has 
made  the  country,  more  or  less  continuously,  one 
of  its  fields.  It  has  now  over  1,200  European 
priests  and  well  on  for  a million  Chinese  members. 

The  first  Protestant  agency  to  be  represented 
in  China  was  the  London  Missionary  Society. 
Robert  Morrison  reached  Canton  in  September, 
1807,  and  William  Milne,  his  first  associate,  in 


355 


What  Missionaries  Have  Done 


July,  1813.  A sister  society,  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  followed 
in  1837,  the  Netherlands  Missionary  Society 
having  in  the  meantime  sent  one  man  on  to  the 
field.  Since  that  period  the  agents  of  other 
societies — British,  American,  and  Continental — have 
settled  in  the  land. 

At  present,  Protestant  missionaries  in  the  whole 
Empire  number  over  4,200,  residing  at,  or  itine- 
rating from,  more  than  five  hundred  stations. 
From  three  hundred  miles  beyond  Mukden,  the 
capital  of  Manchuria,  in  the  north,  to  Hong  Kong, 
Canton,  and  the  island  of  Hainan  in  the  south,  from 
Shanghai  in  the  east  to  Chungking  and  the  borders 
of  Tibet  in  the  west,  it  is  possible  in  many  large, 
and  in  some  comparatively  small,  towns,  to  worship 
with  Christian  congregations  of  Chinese,  led  by 
their  own  Chinese  clergy  or  pastors.  At  the  same 
time  there  are  large  tracts  of  country  which  remain 
as  yet  untouched  by  missionary  effort. 

The  agencies  employed  have  been  most  varied 
and  multiplied.  Medical  work  was  started  almost 
at  once,  educational  methods  were  adopted,  and 
literature  poured  out  of  the  press,  while  at  the 
same  time  evangelistic  labours  were  carried  on. 
Thousands  of  books  have  been  printed,  either 
original  works  or  translations.  As  opportunities 
offered  and  more  facilities  were  granted,  further 
efforts  were  made  to  reach  those  hitherto  un- 
touched, such,  for  example,  as  woman’s  work 
amongst  the  families  of  not  only  the  more  acces- 

356 


Christian  Philanthropy 


sible  lower  classes  of  society  but  in  the  more 
secluded  homes  of  the  well-to-do. 

Of  late  years  official  life  has  been  brought 
within  the  field  of  labour,  and  not  a few  mandarins 
have  welcomed  as  honoured  guests  those  whom 
many  of  their  predecessors  would  have  treated 
with  disdain  and  contempt.  The  desire  to  learn 
English  and  modem  science  has  opened  many  a 
door  of  access  by  which  an  entrance  has  been 
gained  for  the  dissemination  of  higher  truths  and 
a fuller  knowledge,  not  only  of  this  life  but  of  the 
life  which  is  to  come. 

Not  the  least  interesting  of  the  agencies 
employed  are  what  have  been  styled  as  “ by- 
products of  Christian  work  in  China,”  which 
include  such  objects  as  work  for  the  blind,  for 
lepers,  for  opium-smokers,  for  the  deaf  and  dumb, 
for  the  insane,  for  famine  relief,  for  the  rescue 
of  slave-girls,  and  against  foot-binding  and  opium. 
Considering  the  paucity  of  labourers  in  such  an 
immense  field,  the  results  have  been  surprising. 
Nor  are  these  results  only  to  be  measured  by 
the  number  of  communicants,  which  total  between 
200,000  and  300,000,  for  the  indirect  results  have 
been  great,  some  patent  at  first  sight,  and  others 
whose  hidden  forces  have  not  revealed  themselves 
fully  as  yet. 

As  we  have  already  noted,  the  new  birth  of 
this  people  is  largely  due  to  the  missionary  labours 
of  more  than  a hundred  years.  Many  things  are 
included  in  this  renaissance  of  modern  China,  not 


357 


AA 


I 


What  Missionaries  Have  Done 


a few  of  which  have  been  pointed  out  in  former 
chapters.  The  presence  of  the  missionary  has 
had  much  to  do  with  the  existence  of  the  new 
ideas  which  the  new-born  newspaper  press  gives 
voice  to.  Native  hospitals  have  had  as  their  pro- 
totypes mission  hospitals,  as  well  as  those  in 
Hong-Ivong,  Shanghai,  and  Macao. 

Confucianism  has  started  preaching-halls  in 
imitation  of  the  street  chapel.  Men  of  prominence, 
though  unconnected  with  mission  churches,  have 
felt,  unknown  perhaps  to  themselves,  the  influ- 
ence of  Christianity  on  their  lives  and  conduct, 
and  the  proud  scholar  and  haughty  official  also, 
unconsciously  to  themselves,  have  been  impressed 
by  the  sight  of  Christianity  in  their  midst.  The 
thirst  for  a modern  education  owes  its  inception 
to  mission  schools  and  the  instruction  there 
given. 

The  taste  for  a new  literature  is  not  only  the 
outcome  of  what  Christianity  provided  through 
missionaries,  but  the  means  to  print  this  litera- 
ture owes  its  origin  largely  to  missionaries  : the 
first  font  of  type  was  cast  for  Morrison’s  dictionary, 
and  the  Chinese  type-case  and  the  electrotype 
process  applied  to  the  making  of  the  matrices 
for  Chinese  type  were  the  invention  of  an  American 
missionary. 

Even  commerce,  which  at  first  thought  the 
advent  of  the  missionary  would  be  a hindrance, 
has  profited  by  the  spread  of  enlightenment  and 
the  desire  for  better  things  which  follows 

358 


Resistance  to  Christianity 


missionary  work.  Social  life  has  improved  as 
the  result  of  the  establishment  of  schools  and 
the  good  influences  resultant  from  the  gathering 
together  of  many  in  churches.  The  desire  for 
a constitutional  government  received  its  initial 
impulse  from  contact  with  the  Englishman  and 
American  in  the  country,  whose  lives  could  not 
but  be  coloured  by  the  influences  of  their  home 
life  in  their  native  land,  as  regards  political  and 
social  ideals. 

Therefore  in  estimating  what  Christianity  and 
missions  have  done  and  are  doing  for  China  and 
the  Chinese,  mere  statistics  and  figures  are  not 
sufficient  to  give  a full  and  complete  idea  of  the 
past  results,  the  present  progress,  and  the  future 
prospects. 

The  progress  of  Christianity  in  China  has  not 
been  as  rapid  as  in  some  mission  fields.  Indeed 
the  obstacles  to  the  introduction  of  any  faith 
propagated  by  foreigners  were  inevitably  such  as 
to  make  the  spread  of  the  new  religion  a matter 
of  peril,  and  its  progress  necessarily  and  com- 
paratively slow.  At  various  periods  in  the  distant 
past  the  representatives  of  Christian  missions  were 
expelled  from  the  country.  In  modem  times  wide- 
spread violence,  such  as  that  at  the  Boxer  Rising 
of  1900,  and  local  outbreaks  such  as  that  which 
wrought  death  to  the  girl  martyrs  of  Ku-cheng, 
have  illustrated  these  dangers  and  difficulties.  A 
new  period,  however,  opened  with  the  great 
Reform  Movement  now  so  widely  felt  throughout 

359 


What  Missionaries  Have  Done 


China.  This  movement  produced  a new  attitude 
towards  foreign  teachers  and  foreign  teaching.  As 
the  science  and  literature  of  the  West  came  into 
demand,  it  was  necessary  to  find  teachers  who 
understood  it  and  could  make  its  treasures  acces- 
sible to  the  Chinese  learner.  The  lead  thus  given 
by  authority  and  by  persons  of  learning  affected, 
naturally  enough,  the  general  attitude  of  the 
population. 

The  change  has  been,  of  course,  most  favour- 
able to  the  advancement  of  Christianity,  although 
perhaps  naturally  it  produced  new  dangers.  For 
whilst  there  began  a more  general  disposition  to 
read  the  literature  of  Christianity,  there  also 
became  accessible,  especially  to  the  learned,  litera- 
ture which  attacked  Christianity.  In  nothing,  how- 
ever, has  the  advance  of  Christian  propaganda 
under  the  new  conditions  been  more  remarkable 
than  in  the  development  of  Christian  literature 
work.  The  Bible  Societies  have  also  rendered 
great  service  by  publishing  and  circulating  trans- 
lations of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  The  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society,  which  published  Morrison 
and  Milne’s  translation  of  the  New  Testament  as 
early  as  1814,  has  now  nineteen  Chinese  versions 
on  its  list,  and  of  these  versions  it  has  published 
over  18,500,000  copies.  The  American  Bible 
Society  has  published,  since  the  commencement 
of  its  work  in  1843,  about  12,000,000  copies  in 
some  twelve  different  versions  ; whilst  the  National 
Bible  Society  of  Scotland,  which  also  publishes 

360 


Tract  Society  Work 

several  versions,  has  issued  over  1 1,000,000  copies. 
By  far  the  larger  part  of  these  books  have  been 
single  Gospels  and  other  separate  books  of  the 
Bible.  These  have  been  circulated  in  all  the 
provinces  by  means  of  Chinese  colporteurs  and 
by  itinerating  missionaries,  whilst  depots  for  the 
sale  of  Bibles  and  Testaments  are  to  be  found 
in  many  of  the  principal  cities. 

Early  in  the  nineteenth  century  the  Religious 
Tract  Society  of  London  began,  at  the  request  of 
Morrison,  to  produce  Christian  tracts  in  Chinese. 
The  work  thus  originated  has  long  been  locally 
organised  through  Tract  and  Book  Societies 
planted  at  Peking,  Shanghai,  Hankow,  Canton, 
Hong  Kong,  Chungking  and  Mukden.  In  addition, 
the  Christian  Literature  Society,  with  its  head- 
quarters at  Shanghai,  has,  by  books  and  periodicals, 
made  a wide  appeal  to  the  minds,  more  especially, 
of  the  reading  public  in  China. 

How  far  or  for  how  long  these  developments  will 
be  permitted  it  is  impossible  to  say.  In  China, 
more  perhaps  than  in  any  other  land,  it  is  the 
unexpected  which  happens.  The  fact,  however, 
only  lays  the  more  emphasis  upon  the  opportunity 
offered  to  Christendom  in  a field  both  unique  in 
its  extent  and  in  its  possibilities. 


361 


INDEX 


Abuse,  personal,  189 
Acquisitiveness,  240 
Adaptability,  70 
“ All  Souls’  Day,”  29 
Amoy  language,  the,  136 
Ancestral  halls,  22 
homes,  306 
tablets,  22 
worship,  24 
Arithmetic,  264 
Arnold,  Matthew,  quoted,  251 
Atmosphere  of  towns,  170 


B.A.  degree,  the,  277 
Babas,  67 
Babies,  77 

Bamboo,  punishment  with  the, 
121 

Barbarians,  5 
Barbers,  15 
Bargaining,  285 
Beards,  15 
Bedrooms,  304 
Beliefs,  native,  331 


Bible  Societies,  work  of,  360 

Bicycles,  218 

Births,  ceremony  at,  75 

Boat  population,  199 

Boat-women,  210 

Book- hawkers,  218 

Book  of  Mencius,  quoted,  252 

Books,  78 

Books,  ancient,  263 

Bottles,  243 

Braces  and  bits,  319 

Breakfast,  167 

Breeches,  235 

Bribery,  108 

Buddhism,  9, 337 

Buddhist  monks,  travels  of,  208 

Burials,  28 

Buttons,  99,  100 


Calls  of  ceremony,  313 
Cangue,  the,  123 
Cantonese  language,  134,  136 
Capital  punishments,  120 
Carving,  318 


Index 


Cash,  a coin,  239 
Caste,  absence  of,  111 
Cats  as  food,  165 
Chair-carrying,  215 
Chair-coolies,  316 
Changes,  tendency  to,  97 
Chang  Chow  massacre,  the, 
126 

Character  of  the  people,  61, 

64,  66, 

Chaucer  quoted,  14 
Cheapness  of  food,  250 
Chess,  314 
Children,  72 

desire  for,  49 
Child-labour,  327 
Children’s  songs,  78 
Chimneys,  38 

China  Steam  Navigation  Com- 
pany, 209 
Chisels,  319,  322 
Chopsticks,  160 

Christian  literature,  spread  of, 
361 

Christianity,  progress  of,  360 
Cities,  condition  of,  96 
Clanship,  23 
Classics,  48,  186 

character  of,  188 
quoted,  252 

Clothes,  old,  use  of,  244 
Clothing,  7,  225 
Coal,  7 
Coast-line,  2 

Coffins,  trouble  about,  42 
use  of  old,  246 
Coiffure,  women’s,  19 


Coins,  239 

Cold  and  heat  in  disease,  177 
Collars,  225 

Colour  of  clothing,  229 
Comfort,  absence  of,  306 
Communicants,  number  of,  387 
Concessions,  foreign,  345 
Concubines,  46,  54 
Confucius,  89 
Congee,  162 

Cooking,  mode  of,  165,  168 
Coolies,  326 
Corruption,  official,  108 
Corvino,  John,  355 
Courtyards,  303 
Cowper  quoted,  306 
Crime,  122 
Curio-dealers,  218 

Dead,  influence  of,  21,  28 
Degradation  from  office,  114 
Diet,  native,  6 
Dinner,  customs  at,  163 
Disease,  diagnosis  of,  175 
Divination,  43 
Divorce,  55 
Doctors,  172,  182 
Dogs  as  food,  165 
Doors,  301 

Dragon  Boat  Treaty,  the,  280 
Drainage,  246 
Dress  of  mandarins,  99 
Drink,  158 

Druggists’  shops,  181 
Drugs,  the  foreign,  144 
Drunkenness,  166 
Dynasties,  the  ancient,  91 


Index 


Ear-rings,  237 
Education,  78,  262 
changes  in,  272 
history  of,  271 
Educational  reform,  187 
Elimination  of  words,  138 
Emigration,  61,  64 
Emigration,  spread  of,  260 
Emperor,  the  first,  91 
Employment  of  women,  314 
Entrance-halls,  301 
Excursion  boats,  204 
Extravagance,  marriage,  55 

Fans,  mandarins’,  104 
Farming,  324 
Fashions,  236 

Father’s  power  over  his  chil- 
dren, 73 

Ferry-boats,  202 
Feudal  age,  9,  90 
Fiction,  190 
Figures,  use  of,  264 
Filial  piety,  24 
Fish,  7 

abundance  of,  207 
sellers  of,  283 
Fishing-smacks,  207 
“ Five  Classics,”  the,  94 
Flesh-eating  in  disease,  179 
Floating  traders,  201 
Flower-boats,  205 
Food,  158 

in  prisons,  1x9 
Foot-warmers,  305 
Footwear,  234 


Foreign  marriages,  danger  of, 
310 

Foundling  hole  at  Chow  Chow 
Fu,  74 

Fruit-trees,  169 
Fuel,  7 
Fu-hsi,  89 
Fung-Shtii,  32 
Funeral  processions,  294 
Furniture,  247 


Gala-days,  315 
Gambling,  314 
Gardens,  288 

Gemmeous  Ruler,  the,  334 
Geography,  study  of,  265 
Geomancy,  36 
Ghosts,  belief  in,  331 
Giants,  belief  in,  88 
God  of  Fire,  the,  333 

of  the  Locality,  the,  336 
of  Thunder,  story  of,  241 
Goddess  of  Lightning,  story  of 
241 

Goddess  of  Mercy,  the,  334 
Government,  8,  113 
Graduates,  number  of,  277 
Grass  as  fuel,  169 
Grave  at  Chao  chow  fu,  21 
Graves,  position  of,  28 
influence  of,  41 
Great  Learning,  quoted,  47 
Great  Wall,  329 
Guide  to  Knowledge,  quoted, 
267 

Guilds,  324 


Index 


Hares,  Ten  Courts  of,  338 
Hair,  12 

boys’,  20 
women’s,  19 
Hairpins,  238 
Hakka  language,  the,  136 
Hakkas,  the,  15 
Hand-labour,  321 
Hats,  237 

Historical  books,  94 
History  of  the  past,  86 
Houses,  38 

cleaning  of,  300 
description  of,  298 
Horses,  scarcity  of,  321 
Houseboats,  203 
Hwang-ti,  89 

Ideography  of  language,  191 
Idol  festivals,  339 
processions,  295 
Illiteracy,  141 
Image-maker,  paper,  81 
Immorality,  59,  63 
Indoor  life,  297 
Infant  mortality  84 
Infanticide,  72 
Irrigation,  247 
Islands,  2 
Isolation,  4 

Jackets,  225 
Jade  ornaments,  237 
Jealousy,  56 
Jinrickshaws,  212 
Junks,  207 


Keeoo,  138 

Kindness  to  children,  7 b 
Kings  of  the  Ghosts,  courts  of, 
30 

Kissing,  54 
Knickerbockers,  234 

Ladders,  321 
Languages,  13 1 
study  of,  264 
Lantern  processions,  296 
Lanterns,  299 
Lao-tsz,  90 

Tsz,  quoted,  253 
Laundrying,  233 
Laws,  1 16 
Lay  She-Chun,  174 
Leprosy,  56 
Libations,  332 
Libraries,  197,  312 
Literati,  in 
Literature,  8 
Lo  Tsz,  9 
Long  robes,  230 
Luggage,  213 
Lunch,  167 

Macao  dialects,  the,  142 
Malay  States,  Chinamen  in  the, 
67 

Malays,  67 

Manchus,  conquest  by  the,  13 
Manchuria,  wild  tribes  of,  4 
Mandarins,  99 
dress  of,  231 
tenure  of  office,  112 


366 


Index 


Mandarins  ( continued ) — 
pomp  of,  103 
processions  of,  291 
the  language,  112 
Marco  Polo,  10 
Marine-hawkers,  243 
Marketing,  282 
Marriage  processions,  292 
Marriage  by  proxy,  57 
Marriages,  26,  45,  310 
Marrying  the  dead,  58 
Massacres,  126 
Massage,  17 
Mat  sheds,  320 
Matches,  349 
Materia  Medica,  the,  174 
Maturity,  age  of,  59 
Meals,  manners  at,  160,  312 
Medical  Students,  183 
writers,  173 

Medicines,  peculiar,  180 
Melon  seeds,  163 
Memory,  use  of,  266 
Mencius,  90 

Middle  dialects,  the,  138 
Military  mandarins,  power  of, 
107 

Middle  Kingdom,  the,  1 
Milk,  166 
Milk-names,  75 
Milne,  William,  355 
Missions,  prejudice  against,  341 
history  of,  355 

Mohammedan  rebellions,  127 
Moles  on  the  face,  16 
Monasteries,  340 
Morality,  56,  61,  63 


Morrison,  Robert,  355 
Mothers-in-law,  53 
Mountains,  2 
Mourning,  18,  300,  308 
Moustaches,  15 
Mutton,  165 

Names,  76 
Naval  uniform,  114 
Navigation,  river,  204 
Navy,  351 
Nestorians,  355 
New  Year,  the,  80 
Newspapers,  198,  350 
Novels,  93 
Nunneries,  340 
Nursery  songs,  78 

Ocean  Dragon  King,  the,  334 
Odes,  use  of,  192 
Odes  for  Children,  quoted,  268 
“ Oh ! End  of  Thoughts  of 
Love,”  quoted,  195 
Oil-men,  283 
“ Old  custom,”  24 
Opium,  smoking,  148 
effects  of,  152 
history  of,  145 
question,  the,  144 
statistics  of,  155 
Outdoor  life,  280 

Pagoda,  story  of  a,  36 
Paper  offerings,  29 
Parasites,  232 


Index 


Passage-boats,  206 
Patience  of  workers,  316 
Patriotism,  346 
Penal  code,  the,  1 16 
Physical  features  of  the  country, 
1 

Pickle-hawker,  the,  83 
Pillars,  trouble  about,  43 
Ping-pom  man,  the,  80 
Pirates,  224 
Planes,  319 

Pleasures  of  coolies,  327 
Poems  quoted,  193 
Poetry,  191,  192 
Police,  352 
Polygamy,  45 
Poon  Kwu,  a giant,  88 
Population,  3 

on  the  waters,  199 
Pork,  162 
Poverty,  244,  323 
Printing,  use  of,  189 
Prisons,  119 
Processions,  290 
Promotion  in  office,  114 
Protestant  missionaries,  num- 
ber of,  356 

Pulse,  examination  of  the,  176 
Punishments,  120 
outdoor,  291 
Purgatory,  30 

Queues,  13 
Rafts,  210 

Railways,  10,  212,  223 


Railways,  opposition  to,  34 
Rats  as  food,  165 
Rebellions,  124 
Reform,  progress  of,  342 
Religion,  8 

Religious  Tract  Society,  work 
of,  361 

Restaurants,  162 
Rice,  159 

Rice-field  worms,  166 
Rice  fish,  283,  325 
Roads,  219 
Robbers,  224 
Robes  of  mandarins,  99 
Roman  Catholics,  355 
Routes  to  China,  10 


Sailors,  208 
Sampans,  200 
Saws,  319 

Scaffold-builders,  320 
Scent,  20 
Scholarship,  220 
Schools,  78,  276 
Sedan-chairs,  216 
Self-centred,  5 
Sewerage,  246 
Sexagenary  Cycle,  the,  338 
Shaving,  16 
Shen-nung,  89 
Shoes,  235 
Shops,  279 

Shrimp-catcher,  the,  202 
Shun,  a sage,  89 
Shuttlecocks,  287 
Siberian  Railway,  10 


Index 


Silver  currency,  249 
Slave-girls,  83 
Small-pox,  85 
Smoke,  171 
Smuggling,  205 
So  Toong-fuh,  350 
Souls,  the  three,  22 
Spires,  objection  to,  40 
Spirits,  belief  in,  331 
Spoons  and  forks,  162 
Steamers,  209 
Steeples,  objection  to,  40 
Stockings,  234 
Street  cries,  215 
Street-sellers,  284 
Streets,  appearance  of,  216 
Stools,  308 
Strangulation,  120 
Students,  71 
Sweetmeats,  82 
Swords,  10 1 


Tai  Ping  rebellion,  the,  124 
Tao  Teh  King,  quoted,  253 
Taoism,  337 

Telegraphs,  opposition  to,  33 

Temples,  337 

Tenure  of  office,  112 

Theatricals,  281 

Things  Chinese,  quoted,  190 

Thriftiness,  326 

Tigers,  32 

Tibet,  4 

“ To  Find  a Heart  that’s  True,' 
quoted,  194 
Tolerance,  337 


Tombs,  worship  at,  28 
Tones  in  language,  136 
Tools,  319 
Torture,  121 

Tower  at  the  City  of  Fragrant 
Hills,  35 
Toys,  79 

Transmigration  of  souls,  30 
Travel,  modes  of,  212 
Travellers,  71 

Treaty  ports,  China,  men  in 
the,  69 

Trees,  destruction  of,  168 
Troubles  of  official  life,  105 
Trousers,  225 
Tsun  Shih  Hwang,  90 
Tung  Chi,  Emperor,  burial  of, 
4i 

Vaccination,  85 
Vegetables,  284 
Vegetarians,  165 
Vendettas,  128 
Vices,  63 

Voyagers,  ancient,  1 1 

Walking,  delight  in,  286 
War,  ancient  views  of,  252 
“ Warrior  Bold,  A,”  quoted 
193 

Wars,  feudal,  190 
Washing,  233 
Waste,  hatred  of,  241 
Water-supply,  350 
Weddings,  50 


Index 


Wheelbarrow,  221 
Whipping,  public,  123 
Widows,  58 
Wine,  166 

Wives,  position  of,  45 
Women  abroad,  67 
dress  of,  235 
Wood  as  fuel,  169 
Wooden  collar,  the,  123 
Work  of  mandarins,  105 
Workmen,  316 
Worship  at  tombs,  28 


Writing,  reverence  of,  227,  248 
Wu  Tsu,  quoted,  254 

Yang  Tsz  Kiang,  the,  1 
Yau,  a sage,  89 
Yeep,  Viceroy,  104 
Yellow  jacket  the,  10,  233 
Peril,  the,  256 
River,  the,  1 
Yong,  177 
Yii,  a sage,  89 
Yum,  177 


UNWIN  BROTHERS,  LIMITED,  THE  GRESHAM  PRESS,  WOKING  AND  LONDON. 


